Rocket-miR, a translational launchpad for miRNA-based antimicrobial drug development

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Bioinformatics
• Drug Discovery

Background:

• Antimicrobial-resistant infections cause millions of deaths annually.
• ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter sp.) are a significant concern due to resistance.
• Novel antimicrobial therapies are critical for treating resistant infections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Rocket-miR application for identifying potential miRNA-based antimicrobials.
• To support microbiologists in the discovery of new antimicrobial agents.
• To provide a platform for targeting 24 human pathogens and extensible to others.

Main Methods:

• The Rocket-miR application predicts human microRNA (miRNA) targets in bacterial and fungal pathogens.
• The application facilitates rapid identification of candidate miRNA-based antimicrobials.
• The codebase is designed for easy expansion to include additional human pathogens.

Main Results:

• Rocket-miR enables rapid identification of candidate antimicrobial miRNAs.
• The application supports 24 key human pathogens relevant to diseases like pneumonia and UTIs.
• The platform is adaptable for emerging hospital-acquired infections.

Conclusions:

• Rocket-miR is a valuable tool for accelerating the discovery of miRNA-based antimicrobials.
• The application addresses the urgent need for new treatments against antimicrobial resistance.
• Its extensible design supports ongoing research into novel antimicrobial strategies.