Chapter 32 - Molecular mechanism of biofilm formation of pathogenic microorganisms and their role in host pathogen interaction

Abstract

Biofilm is the survival mechanism in bacteria, which is found in both natural and artificial atmosphere. Some of the pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and some fungi are known to form biofilms. Some of the biofilm-associated diseases are otitis media, cholesteatoma, infective endocarditis, atherosclerosis, sialolithiasis, typhoid fever, inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and chronic rhinosinusitis. Biofilm structure contains extracellular polysaccharides, extracellular DNA, exopolysaccharides, etc. Biofilm formation is either four steps long or five steps long, but it depends on the organism that is forming it. After the development of biofilm, dispersal is also important for establishing new colonies of biofilm. In this review study, we have found that several transcription factors and quorum-sensing-based signaling mechanisms are important molecular regulators for biosynthesizing different components associated with biofilm. These biofilm components have their importance during disease progression inside the host cell. Several studies have explained the implication of biofilm during host–pathogen interaction; how the pathogenic biofilm-forming microbes divert the host’s complex immune system against them. More research is required for preventing the initial biofilm formation and dispersion mechanism.