What is a biofilm and what role does it play in disease?

The term biofilm is used to denote a polymer-encased community of microbes which accumulates at a surface. Biofilms are responsible for a number of diseases of man and, because of the intrinsic resistance of these structures to antibiotics and host defence systems, such diseases are very difficult to treat effectively.

What is the role of biofilms in disease?

The role of biofilms in pathogenesis

One example of a positive effect includes the biofilms of commensal bacteria such as Staphylococcus epidermidis, which can impede the colonisation of potentially pathogenic bacteria through the stimulation of host-cell immune defences and the prevention of adhesion.

What is biofilm and why is it important?

Biofilms represent a survival mechanism of microorganisms and are therefore ubiquitous in nature. They are complex, slime-encased communities of microbes which are often seen as slime layers on objects in water or at water-air interfaces [1, 2].

Why are biofilms important in infectious disease?

In hospital settings, biofilm production on indwelling devices helps bacterial cells to become more resistant to various agents. Moreover, biofilm formation helps bacteria evade the human immune defense, leading to long-term survival inside the human cells.

What is biofilm in the body?

Summary: Biofilms are slimy, glue-like membranes that are produced by microbes in order to colonize surfaces. They protect microbes from the body's immune system and increase their resistance to antibiotics. Biofilms represent one of the biggest threats to patients in hospital settings.

What role does biofilm play in acute and chronic infections?

What diseases are associated with biofilms?

Due to the elevated resistance to antibiotics and to the host immune response, biofilms can cause chronic or recurrent infections such as chronic otitis media (COM), chronic wound infections, cystic fibrosis (CF) in lung infections, chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), and several other important infectious diseases (Hall- ...

What infections are caused by biofilms?

Host tissue related biofilm infections are often chronic, including chronic lung infections of cystic fibrosis patients, chronic osteomyelitis, chronic prostatitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, chronic otitis media, chronic wounds, recurrent urinary tract infection, endocarditis, periodontitis and dental caries [21].

What are biofilms and how are they beneficial for bacteria?

Biofilm is a strong and dynamic structure that confers a broad range of advantages to its members, such as adhesion/cohesion capabilities, mechanical properties, nutritional sources, metabolite exchange platform, cellular communication, protection and resistance to drugs (e.g., antimicrobials, antiseptics, and ...

What is biofilm quizlet?

What is a biofilm? Organized communities of bacteria that adhere to a surface surrounded by a mesh like matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) - often contains single bacterial species but can contain hundreds.

How do biofilms protect bacteria?

By forming a biofilm, bacteria protect themselves from host defense, disinfectants, and antibiotics. Bacteria inside biofilm are much more resistant to antimicrobial agents than planktonic forms since bacteria that are unresisting to antimicrobial agents in any way can turn resistant after forming a biofilm.

What is an example of a biofilm?

Biofilms are a collective of one or more types of microorganisms that can grow on many different surfaces. Microorganisms that form biofilms include bacteria, fungi and protists. One common example of a biofilm dental plaque, a slimy buildup of bacteria that forms on the surfaces of teeth. Pond scum is another example.

What is a biofilm in microbiology?

Biofilms are glycocalyx-containing materials secreted by individual microorganisms in which are encased communities of these microorganisms. Biofilms allow these microorganisms to adhere to a solid surface and be enveloped within a protective extracellular glycocalyx-containing matrix.

What are biofilms and how do they impact human health quizlet?

Cells in biofilms coordinate their activity by communicating through quorum sensing. Biofilms are commonly found on surfaces in nature and in the human body, where they may be beneficial or cause severe infections. Pathogens associated with biofilms are often more resistant to antibiotics and disinfectants.

Why do bacteria form biofilm?

Bacteria form biofilms in response to environmental stresses such as UV radiation, desiccation, limited nutrients, extreme pH, extreme temperature, high salt concentrations, high pressure, and antimicrobial agents.

How do biofilms work?

How do biofilms form? A biofilm forms when certain microorganisms (for example, some types of bacteria) adhere to the surface of some object in a moist environment and begin to reproduce. The microorganisms form an attachment to the surface of the object by secreting a slimy, glue-like substance.

Where can a biofilm be beneficial in the human body?

In fact, the human body has biofilms in the mouth and intestinal track that can protect our health or harm it. Dental plaque is a common example of a biofilm that forms on tooth surfaces. The products of metabolism of the bacteria in plaque are responsible for tooth decay and gum disease.

Why are biofilms harmful?

From the human perspective, biofilms can be classified into beneficial, neutral, and harmful. Harmful biofilms impact food safety, cause plant and animal diseases, and threaten medical fields, making it urgent to develop effective and robust strategies to control harmful biofilms.

How does biofilm provide virulence?

Biofilm virulence factors underlie chronic infection. Bacteria often employ opposing molecular mechanisms to establish acute and chronic infections, thus requiring different strategies for treatment of acute and chronic (biofilm) infections.

Is biofilm an infection?

Biofilm infections, such as pneumonia in cystic fibrosis patients, chronic wounds, chronic otitis media and implant- and catheter-associated infections, affect millions of people in the developed world each year and many deaths occur as a consequence.

What is a bacterial biofilm and how is it formed?

Biofilm formation is a process whereby microorganisms irreversibly attach to and grow on a surface and produce extracellular polymers that facilitate attachment and matrix formation, resulting in an alteration in the phenotype of the organisms with respect to growth rate and gene transcription.

What is the advantage of biofilm for bacteria quizlet?

What is the advantage to living in a biofilm? Pipes, teeth, drains, cooling water towers. The structure of the biofilm shields the microbes growing within it so the bacteria in a biofilm may be hundreds of times more resistant to disinfectants than are their planktonic counterparts.

Why are biofilms important to microbes quizlet?

Why are biofilms important in infectious disease? Bacteria in biofilms are often protected from antibiotics. Most microbes cannot cause disease without other microbes present. The secreted extracellular "gunk" is highly damaging to tissues.

What is the benefit of a biofilm to a microorganism quizlet?

- biofilms provide an ideal environment for the exchange of extrachromosomal DNA, which often includes genes that confer antibiotic resistance.

What is biofilm simple words?

Definition of biofilm

: a thin usually resistant layer of microorganisms (such as bacteria) that form on and coat various surfaces.

Why do biofilms form on medical devices?

Some pathogens that form biofilms originate from the skin and contaminate the device during implantation or insertion. Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans are common microbes on the skin; therefore, they are the most important pathogenic cause of implant biofilm infections [1,30–32].