P258 Phenotypic and gene expressional changes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis patient airways upon estradiol exposure

Abstract

Female cystic fibrosis (CF) patients have a life expectancy of about 6 years less than men, which manifests in an earlier impairment of lung function due to chronic colonization with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This study aims to shed light on this “CF-Gender-Gap” from a microbiological point of view by investigating the impact of the sex hormone estradiol (E2) on the phenotype of P. aeruginosa CF isolates regarding biofilm growth and structure as well as gene expression changes.