Biofilm Disease Research Articles

Biofilms and сhronic rhinosinusitis

Introduction. A biofilm is a community of bacteria embedded in a matrix consisting of polysaccharides, nucleic acids, and proteins. Biofilms are resistant to antibiotics, antiseptics, and immune defense factors of the human body. Currently, the role of bacterial biofilms in the pathogenesis of chronic infections is known. There are a lot of articles confirming the detection of biofilms in diseases of the upper respiratory tract and ear: adenoiditis, recurrent and chronic otitis, laryngitis.Biofilms and Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS). Biofilms can play a significant role in prolonging inflammation in the paranasal sinuses. Biofilms are found in 76.7% of patients with CRS. This fact can serve as one of the explanations for the refractoriness of drug therapy and recurrent inflammations after surgical treatment.Methods for Controlling Biofilms. Is there a Way Out? As part of the strategy of removing biofilm, it is important to destroy its structure to planktonic forms, which will allow for the process of managing CRS progress. Antibiotic therapy alone is considered insufficient. Nasal irrigation can provide a violation of the biofilm integrity due to the mechanical destruction of its matrix and have a significant impact on the outcome of the disease. The nasal irrigation preparation containing isotonic sea water solution added with carbon dioxide (CO2-0.4%) has such an effect. In an experimental study, it was shown that 98% of the bacteria were non-viable when processing Staphylococus aureus biofilm.Conclusion. The impact on biofilms should be complex, including medication, physical means, irrigation of the nasal cavity.

Candida albicans forms biofilms on the vaginal mucosa

Current understanding of resistance and susceptibility to vulvovaginal candidiasis challenges existing paradigms of host defence against fungal infection. While abiotic biofilm formation has a clearly established role during systemic Candida infections, it is not known whether C. albicans forms biofilms on the vaginal mucosa and the possible role of biofilms in disease. In vivo and ex vivo murine vaginitis models were employed to examine biofilm formation by scanning electron and confocal microscopy. C. albicans strains included 3153A (lab strain), DAY185 (parental control strain), and mutants defective in morphogenesis and/or biofilm formation in vitro (efg1/efg1 and bcr1/bcr1). Both 3153A and DAY815 formed biofilms on the vaginal mucosa in vivo and ex vivo as indicated by high fungal burden and microscopic analysis demonstrating typical biofilm architecture and presence of extracellular matrix (ECM) co-localized with the presence of fungi. In contrast, efg1/efg1 and bcr1/bcr1 mutant strains exhibited weak or no biofilm formation/ECM production in both models compared to wild-type strains and complemented mutants despite comparable colonization levels. These data show for the first time that C. albicans forms biofilms in vivo on vaginal epithelium, and that in vivo biotic biofilm formation requires regulators of biofilm formation (BCR1) and morphogenesis (EFG1).