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Recent Advances in Molecular Mechanisms of Biofilms

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 3599

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Carla Renata Arciola

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Guest Editor

Research Unit on Implant Infections, Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136 Bologna, Italy
Interests: antimicrobial peptides
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biofilms remain very mysterious. The ways in which they create consortia capable of developing tolerance to antibiotics and evading immunity are yet to be fully established. The role, significance, and interactions of the various molecular components of the biofilm matrix and the emerging differences between in vitro and in vivo biofilms are yet to be grasped in their complexity. Biofilms take advantage of resources from the biological environment, exploiting host molecules to strengthen their matrix and hijacking host immune defenses. Thus, they can thrive and persist. Lipid membrane-enveloped nanostructures released by bacteria are also present in biofilms and involved in cell-to-cell communication within the biofilm, in the transport of virulence factors, and in the formation and dispersion of the biofilm. All of these events can contribute to promoting and propagating host infections. Molecular interactions between bacteria and biomaterials underlie the formation of biofilms around orthopedic and dental implants. Indeed, biomaterials are substrates for bacterial adhesion, a form of true bacterial anchoring that initiates biofilm formation. Better knowledge of biofilm formation, maintenance, and dispersal is essential to preventing biofilm-associated host infections, but also to improve molecular diagnosis and design new antinfective biomaterials. This Special Issue aims to explore the world of biofilms and deepen the knowledge regarding strategies to counteract biofilms.

Prof. Dr. Carla Renata Arciola
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

bacterial biofilms
implant infections
infection and immunity
biofilm matrix
biofilm matrix macromolecular components
extracellular DNA
biofilm associated proteins
biofilm polysaccharides
inflammation
anti-biofilm molecules
anti-biofilm biomaterials

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2341 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Candida albicans in the Development, Kinetics, Structure, and Cell Viability of Biofilms on Implant Surfaces—An In Vitro Study with a Validated Multispecies Biofilm Model

by Enrique Bravo, Marion Arce, Honorato Ribeiro-Vidal, David Herrera and Mariano Sanz

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(6), 3277; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25063277 - 14 Mar 2024

Viewed by 561

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Candida albicans on subgingival biofilm formation on dental implant surfaces. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were used to compare biofilm structure and microbial biomass in the presence and absence of the fungus after periods of 24, 48, and 72 h. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to quantify the number of viable and total micro-organisms for each of the biofilm-forming strains. A general linear model was applied to compare CLSM and qPCR results between the control and test conditions. The biofilm developed with C. albicans at 72 h had a higher bacterial biomass and a significantly higher cell viability (p < 0.05). After both 48 and 72 h of incubation, in the presence of C. albicans, there was a significant increase in counts of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis and in the cell viability of Streptococcus oralis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, F. nucleatum, and P. gingivalis. Using a dynamic in vitro multispecies biofilm model, C. albicans exacerbated the development of the biofilm grown on dental implant surfaces, significantly increasing the number and cell viability of periodontal bacteria. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Molecular Mechanisms of Biofilms)

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17 pages, 4519 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cellulase Promotes Mycobacterial Biofilm Dispersal in Response to a Decrease in the Bacterial Metabolite Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid

by Jiaqi Zhang, Yingying Liu, Junxing Hu, Guangxian Leng, Xining Liu, Zailin Cui, Wenzhen Wang, Yufang Ma and Shanshan Sha

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(2), 1051; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25021051 - 15 Jan 2024

Viewed by 707

Abstract

Biofilm dispersal contributes to bacterial spread and disease transmission. However, its exact mechanism, especially that in the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is unclear. In this study, the cellulase activity of the M. tuberculosis Rv0062 protein was characterized, and its effect on mycobacterial biofilm dispersal was analyzed by observation of the structure and components of Rv0062-treated biofilm in vitro. Meanwhile, the metabolite factors that induced cellulase-related biofilm dispersal were also explored with metabolome analysis and further validations. The results showed that Rv0062 protein had a cellulase activity with a similar optimum pH (6.0) and lower optimum temperature (30 °C) compared to the cellulases from other bacteria. It promoted mycobacterial biofilm dispersal by hydrolyzing cellulose, the main component of extracellular polymeric substrates of mycobacterial biofilm. A metabolome analysis revealed that 107 metabolites were significantly altered at different stages of M. smegmatis biofilm development. Among them, a decrease in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) promoted cellulase-related biofilm dispersal, and this effect was realized with the down-regulation of the bacterial signal molecule c-di-GMP. All these findings suggested that cellulase promotes mycobacterial biofilm dispersal and that this process is closely associated with biofilm metabolite alterations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Molecular Mechanisms of Biofilms)

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Review

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20 pages, 2581 KiB

Open AccessReview

Interactions of Neutrophils with the Polymeric Molecular Components of the Biofilm Matrix in the Context of Implant-Associated Bone and Joint Infections

by Davide Campoccia, Stefano Ravaioli, Rasoul Mirzaei, Gloria Bua, Maria Daglia and Carla Renata Arciola

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(23), 17042; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242317042 - 01 Dec 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 998

Abstract

In the presence of orthopedic implants, opportunistic pathogens can easily colonize the biomaterial surfaces, forming protective biofilms. Life in biofilm is a central pathogenetic mechanism enabling bacteria to elude the host immune response and survive conventional medical treatments. The formation of mature biofilms is universally recognized as the main cause of septic prosthetic failures. Neutrophils are the first leukocytes to be recruited at the site of infection. They are highly efficient in detecting and killing planktonic bacteria. However, the interactions of these fundamental effector cells of the immune system with the biofilm matrix, which is the true interface of a biofilm with the host cells, have only recently started to be unveiled and are still to be fully understood. Biofilm matrix macromolecules consist of exopolysaccharides, proteins, lipids, teichoic acids, and the most recently described extracellular DNA. The latter can also be stolen from neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) by bacteria, who use it to strengthen their biofilms. This paper aims to review the specific interactions that neutrophils develop when they physically encounter the matrix of a biofilm and come to interact with its polymeric molecular components. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Molecular Mechanisms of Biofilms)

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21 pages, 1604 KiB

Open AccessReview

Biofilms in Periprosthetic Orthopedic Infections Seen through the Eyes of Neutrophils: How Can We Help Neutrophils?

by Carla Renata Arciola, Stefano Ravaioli, Rasoul Mirzaei, Paolo Dolzani, Lucio Montanaro, Maria Daglia and Davide Campoccia

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(23), 16669; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242316669 - 23 Nov 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 953

Abstract

Despite advancements in our knowledge of neutrophil responses to planktonic bacteria during acute inflammation, much remains to be elucidated on how neutrophils deal with bacterial biofilms in implant infections. Further complexity transpires from the emerging findings on the role that biomaterials play in conditioning bacterial adhesion, the variety of biofilm matrices, and the insidious measures that biofilm bacteria devise against neutrophils. Thus, grasping the entirety of neutrophil–biofilm interactions occurring in periprosthetic tissues is a difficult goal. The bactericidal weapons of neutrophils consist of the following: ready-to-use antibacterial proteins and enzymes stored in granules; NADPH oxidase-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS); and net-like structures of DNA, histones, and granule proteins, which neutrophils extrude to extracellularly trap pathogens (the so-called NETs: an allusive acronym for “neutrophil extracellular traps”). Neutrophils are bactericidal (and therefore defensive) cells endowed with a rich offensive armamentarium through which, if frustrated in their attempts to engulf and phagocytose biofilms, they can trigger the destruction of periprosthetic bone. This study speculates on how neutrophils interact with biofilms in the dramatic scenario of implant infections, also considering the implications of this interaction in view of the design of new therapeutic strategies and functionalized biomaterials, to help neutrophils in their arduous task of managing biofilms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Molecular Mechanisms of Biofilms)

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