# Outer Membrane Biogenesis: New Antibiotic Targets

> **NIH NIH R01** · HARVARD UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $560,970

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Antibiotic resistant Gram-negative infections pose a serious threat to human health. The outer membrane of
Gram-negative bacteria is a unique structure essential for survival; it also functions as a physical barrier to block
entry of many classes of antibiotics and thereby render them ineffective. This research is directed towards
understanding the structure and function of two multi-protein machines responsible for the biogenesis of two
major components of the outer membrane, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and outer membrane proteins (OMPs). To
understand the protein-protein interactions within each machine and their molecular structures, biochemical and
structural studies will be undertaken. To dissect the functions of the individual components of these machines,
intermediates in transport and assembly of LPS and OMPs will be characterized structurally, biochemically, and
in cells. A better understanding of the protein machinery and the processes in which they are involved may lead
to the discovery of inhibitors that could ultimately be developed to treat Gram-negative infections.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10086366
- **Project number:** 5R01AI081059-13
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Daniel Kahne
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $560,970
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2008-12-15 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10086366

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10086366, Outer Membrane Biogenesis: New Antibiotic Targets (5R01AI081059-13). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10086366. Licensed CC0.

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