Abstract
Bartonella henselae (B. henselae) is a gram-negative bacterium that causes cat scratch disease, bacteremia, and endocarditis, as well as other clinical presentations. B. henselae has been shown to form a biofilm in vitro that likely plays a role in the establishment and persistence of the bacterium in the host. Biofilms are also known to form in the cat flea vector; hence, the ability of this bacterium to form a biofilm has broad biological significance. The release of B. henselae from a biofilm niche appears to be important in disease persistence and relapse in the vertebrate host but also in transmission by the cat flea vector. It has been shown that the BadA adhesin of B. henselae is critical for adherence and biofilm formation. Thus, the upregulation of badA is important in initiating biofilm formation, and down-regulation is important in the release of the bacterium from the biofilm. We summarize the current knowledge of biofilm formation in Bartonella species and the role of BadA in biofilm formation. We discuss the evidence that defines possible mechanisms for the regulation of the genes required for biofilm formation. We further describe the regulation of those genes in the conditions that mimic both the arthropod vector and the mammalian host for B. henselae. The treatment for persistent B. henselae infection remains a challenge; hence, a better understanding of the mechanisms by which this bacterium persists in its host is critical to inform future efforts to develop drugs to treat such infections.
Highlights
Since the first report of microbial biofilms nearly 40 years ago, two decades passed before interest began to grow in studies that examined the clinical significance of biofilm formation [1]
cat scratch disease (CSD) caused by B. henselae remains one of the most common infections caused by bacteria in the genus Bartonella
We propose that the biofilm represents an additional niche that provides the platform for seeding planktonic cells into the bloodstream, causing host immune reactions, disease conditions, and persistence in the face of antimicrobial treatments
Summary
Since the first report of microbial biofilms nearly 40 years ago, two decades passed before interest began to grow in studies that examined the clinical significance of biofilm formation [1]. Despitetothe continued use of sists of a complex gene regulatory system allows the survive in different antibiotics, systemic cases of B. henselae infection remain difficult treat and often require phases of the lifecycle, resist antibiotic treatment, and persist into the human host [19,25]. Biofilm regulation in B. henselae consists of a complex gene necessary to determine how B. henselae survives and persists, through the forregulatory system that allows the bacteria to survive in different phases of the lifecycle, mation of biofilms Understanding such mechanism(s) will aid in the development of resist antibiotic treatment, and persist in the human host [19,25].
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