Abstract
BackgroundBiofilm formation is associated with various aspects of bacterial and fungal infection. This study was designed to assess the impact of diverse natural polyelectrolytes, such as DNA, F-actin, neurofilaments (NFs), vimentin and purified Pf1 bacteriophage on biofilm formation and swarming motility of select pathogens including Pseudomonas aeruginosa associated with lung infections in CF patients.ResultsThe bacteriophage Pf1 (1 mg/ml) significantly increased biofilm mass produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa P14, Escherichia coli RS218 and Bacillus subtilis ATCC6051. DNA, F-actin, NFs and Pf1 also increased biofilm mass of the fungal C. albicans 1409 strain. Addition of F-actin, DNA or Pf1 bacteriophage to 0.5% agar plates increased swarming motility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Xen5.ConclusionsThe presence of polyelectrolytes at infection sites is likely to promote biofilm growth and bacterial swarming.
Highlights
Biofilm formation is associated with various aspects of bacterial and fungal infection
Bacterial biofilm, a complex community of surfaceassociated cells surrounded by a self-produced polymer matrix consisting mostly of polysaccharides and DNA can form at infection sites and promote chronic infection [1,2,3]
This observation suggests that bacteria might use their own and likely other species’ extracellular DNA to form a biofilm matrix
Summary
Biofilm formation is associated with various aspects of bacterial and fungal infection. This study was designed to assess the impact of diverse natural polyelectrolytes, such as DNA, F-actin, neurofilaments (NFs), vimentin and purified Pf1 bacteriophage on biofilm formation and swarming motility of select pathogens including Pseudomonas aeruginosa associated with lung infections in CF patients. Biofilm increases bacterial resistance to the host immune system, provides a place for development of resistant microorganisms and is associated with increased resistance to exogenous antibiotic treatment [4,5,6]. Biofilm formation involves the production of an extracellular matrix, but the composition of this matrix is not well defined. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14, decreased production of extracellular polymers reduces static biofilm development [8]. An increasing number of studies support the hypothesis that DNA, F-actin, and possibly other filamentous polymers released from host
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