The in vivo biofilm
TL;DR: Why the current in vitro models of biofilms might be limited for describing infectious biofilmms are discussed, and new strategies for improving this discrepancy are suggested.
About: This article is published in Trends in Microbiology.The article was published on 2013-09-01. It has received 586 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Biofilm.
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TL;DR: This Review focuses on current therapeutic strategies and those under development that target vital structural and functional traits of microbial biofilms and drug tolerance mechanisms, including the extracellular matrix and dormant cells.
Abstract: Biofilm formation is a key virulence factor for a wide range of microorganisms that cause chronic infections. The multifactorial nature of biofilm development and drug tolerance imposes great challenges for the use of conventional antimicrobials and indicates the need for multi-targeted or combinatorial therapies. In this Review, we focus on current therapeutic strategies and those under development that target vital structural and functional traits of microbial biofilms and drug tolerance mechanisms, including the extracellular matrix and dormant cells. We emphasize strategies that are supported by in vivo or ex vivo studies, highlight emerging biofilm-targeting technologies and provide a rationale for multi-targeted therapies aimed at disrupting the complex biofilm microenvironment.
1,039 citations
TL;DR: This Review highlights how the relatively new and rapidly developing field of research into bacterial quorum sensing can be built upon to work towards new medicines to treat devastating infectious diseases, and use bacteria to understand the biology of sociality.
Abstract: This Review highlights how we can build upon the relatively new and rapidly developing field of research into bacterial quorum sensing (QS). We now have a depth of knowledge about how bacteria use QS signals to communicate with each other and to coordinate their activities. In recent years there have been extraordinary advances in our understanding of the genetics, genomics, biochemistry, and signal diversity of QS. We are beginning to understand the connections between QS and bacterial sociality. This foundation places us at the beginning of a new era in which researchers will be able to work towards new medicines to treat devastating infectious diseases, and use bacteria to understand the biology of sociality.
762 citations
TL;DR: The clinical and laboratory parameters for diagnosing biofilm infections are outlined based on the patient's history, signs and symptoms, microscopic findings, culture-based or culture-independent diagnostic techniques and specific immune responses to identify microorganisms known to causeBiofilm infections.
581 citations
Additional excerpts
...foreign bodies 5–1200 μm (Table 4) [10]....
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TL;DR: This review will describe how pathogenic bacteria can adhere and multiply at the surface of host cells, how some bacteria can enter and proliferate inside these cells, and finally how pathogens may cross epithelial or endothelial host barriers and get access to internal tissues, leading to severe diseases in humans.
554 citations
Cites background from "The in vivo biofilm"
...[48] Bjarnsholt T, Alhede M, Alhede M, Eickhardt-Sorensen SR, Moser C, Kuhl M, et al....
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...The exact in vivo role of these biofilms during bacterial infections now constitutes an active field of research [47,48]....
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TL;DR: The mechanisms by which nanomaterials can be used to target antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are discussed, design elements and properties of nanomMaterials that can be engineered to enhance potency are highlighted, and recent progress and remaining challenges for clinical implementation are explored.
Abstract: Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections arising from acquired resistance and/or through biofilm formation necessitate the development of innovative 'outside of the box' therapeutics Nanomaterial-based therapies are promising tools to combat bacterial infections that are difficult to treat, featuring the capacity to evade existing mechanisms associated with acquired drug resistance In addition, the unique size and physical properties of nanomaterials give them the capability to target biofilms, overcoming recalcitrant infections In this Review, we highlight the general mechanisms by which nanomaterials can be used to target bacterial infections associated with acquired antibiotic resistance and biofilms We emphasize design elements and properties of nanomaterials that can be engineered to enhance potency Lastly, we present recent progress and remaining challenges for widespread clinical implementation of nanomaterials as antimicrobial therapeutics
418 citations
References
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TL;DR: Improvements in understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of bacterial community behavior point to therapeutic targets that may provide a means for the control of biofilm infections.
Abstract: Bacteria that attach to surfaces aggregate in a hydrated polymeric matrix of their own synthesis to form biofilms. Formation of these sessile communities and their inherent resistance to antimicrobial agents are at the root of many persistent and chronic bacterial infections. Studies of biofilms have revealed differentiated, structured groups of cells with community properties. Recent advances in our understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of bacterial community behavior point to therapeutic targets that may provide a means for the control of biofilm infections.
11,162 citations
TL;DR: It is evident that biofilm formation is an ancient and integral component of the prokaryotic life cycle, and is a key factor for survival in diverse environments.
Abstract: Biofilms--matrix-enclosed microbial accretions that adhere to biological or non-biological surfaces--represent a significant and incompletely understood mode of growth for bacteria. Biofilm formation appears early in the fossil record (approximately 3.25 billion years ago) and is common throughout a diverse range of organisms in both the Archaea and Bacteria lineages, including the 'living fossils' in the most deeply dividing branches of the phylogenetic tree. It is evident that biofilm formation is an ancient and integral component of the prokaryotic life cycle, and is a key factor for survival in diverse environments. Recent advances show that biofilms are structurally complex, dynamic systems with attributes of both primordial multicellular organisms and multifaceted ecosystems. Biofilm formation represents a protected mode of growth that allows cells to survive in hostile environments and also disperse to colonize new niches. The implications of these survival and propagative mechanisms in the context of both the natural environment and infectious diseases are discussed in this review.
6,170 citations
TL;DR: It is understood that biofilms are universal, occurring in aquatic and industrial water systems as well as a large number of environments and medical devices relevant for public health, and that treatments may be based on inhibition of genes involved in cell attachment and biofilm formation.
Abstract: Though biofilms were first described by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the theory describing the biofilm process was not developed until 1978. We now understand that biofilms are universal, occurring in aquatic and industrial water systems as well as a large number of environments and medical devices relevant for public health. Using tools such as the scanning electron microscope and, more recently, the confocal laser scanning microscope, biofilm researchers now understand that biofilms are not unstructured, homogeneous deposits of cells and accumulated slime, but complex communities of surface-associated cells enclosed in a polymer matrix containing open water channels. Further studies have shown that the biofilm phenotype can be described in terms of the genes expressed by biofilm-associated cells. Microorganisms growing in a biofilm are highly resistant to antimicrobial agents by one or more mechanisms. Biofilm-associated microorganisms have been shown to be associated with several human diseases, such as native valve endocarditis and cystic fibrosis, and to colonize a wide variety of medical devices. Though epidemiologic evidence points to biofilms as a source of several infectious diseases, the exact mechanisms by which biofilm-associated microorganisms elicit disease are poorly understood. Detachment of cells or cell aggregates, production of endotoxin, increased resistance to the host immune system, and provision of a niche for the generation of resistant organisms are all biofilm processes which could initiate the disease process. Effective strategies to prevent or control biofilms on medical devices must take into consideration the unique and tenacious nature of biofilms. Current intervention strategies are designed to prevent initial device colonization, minimize microbial cell attachment to the device, penetrate the biofilm matrix and kill the associated cells, or remove the device from the patient. In the future, treatments may be based on inhibition of genes involved in cell attachment and biofilm formation.
5,748 citations
TL;DR: The results reviewed in this article indicate that the formation of biofilms serves as a new model system for the study of microbial development.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract Biofilms can be defined as communities of microorganisms attached to a surface. It is clear that microorganisms undergo profound changes during their transition from planktonic (free-swimming) organisms to cells that are part of a complex, surface-attached community. These changes are reflected in the new phenotypic characteristics developed by biofilm bacteria and occur in response to a variety of environmental signals. Recent genetic and molecular approaches used to study bacterial and fungal biofilms have identified genes and regulatory circuits important for initial cell-surface interactions, biofilm maturation, and the return of biofilm microorganisms to a planktonic mode of growth. Studies to date suggest that the planktonic-biofilm transition is a complex and highly regulated process. The results reviewed in this article indicate that the formation of biofilms serves as a new model system for the study of microbial development.
3,321 citations
TL;DR: Biofilms can be prevented by early aggressive antibiotic prophylaxis or therapy and they can be treated by chronic suppressive therapy and a promising strategy may be the use of enzymes that can dissolve the biofilm matrix as well as quorum-sensing inhibitors that increase biofilm susceptibility to antibiotics.
2,637 citations