Center for Biofilm Engineering
Abstract:
"Biofilms: Survival Mechanisms of Clinically Relevant Microorganisms"
02-014 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.
Donlan, R.M., and J.W. Costerton, "Biofilms: Survival Mechanisms of Clinically Relevant Microorganisms," Clin. Microbiol. Rev., 15(2):167-193 (2002). Abstract 02-014
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