TY - JOUR
T1 - Mucin-Pseudomonas aeruginosa interactions promote biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance
AU - Landry, Rebecca M.
AU - An, Dingding
AU - Hupp, Joseph T.
AU - Singh, Pradeep K.
AU - Parsek, Matthew R.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2006/1
Y1 - 2006/1
N2 - Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes chronic lung infections in people suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF). In CF airways, P. aeruginosa forms surface-associated communities called biofilms. Compared with free-swimming cultures, biofilms resist clearance by the host immune system and display increased resistance to antimicrobial agents. In this study we developed a technique to coat surfaces with molecules that are abundant in CF airways in order to investigate their impact on P. aeruginosa biofilm development. We found that P. aeruginosa biofilm development proceeds differently on surfaces coated with the glycoprotein mucin compared with biofilm development on glass and surfaces coated with actin or DNA. Biofilms formed on mucin-coated surfaces developed large cellular aggregates and had increased tolerance to the antibiotic tobramycin compared with biofilms grown on glass. Analysis of selected mutant backgrounds in conjunction with time-lapse microscopy revealed that surface-associated motility was blocked on the mucin surface. Furthermore, our data suggest that a specific adhesin-mucin interaction immobilizes the bacterium on the surface. Together, these experiments suggest that mucin, which may serve as an attachment surface in CF airways, impacts P. aeruginosa biofilm development and function.
AB - Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes chronic lung infections in people suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF). In CF airways, P. aeruginosa forms surface-associated communities called biofilms. Compared with free-swimming cultures, biofilms resist clearance by the host immune system and display increased resistance to antimicrobial agents. In this study we developed a technique to coat surfaces with molecules that are abundant in CF airways in order to investigate their impact on P. aeruginosa biofilm development. We found that P. aeruginosa biofilm development proceeds differently on surfaces coated with the glycoprotein mucin compared with biofilm development on glass and surfaces coated with actin or DNA. Biofilms formed on mucin-coated surfaces developed large cellular aggregates and had increased tolerance to the antibiotic tobramycin compared with biofilms grown on glass. Analysis of selected mutant backgrounds in conjunction with time-lapse microscopy revealed that surface-associated motility was blocked on the mucin surface. Furthermore, our data suggest that a specific adhesin-mucin interaction immobilizes the bacterium on the surface. Together, these experiments suggest that mucin, which may serve as an attachment surface in CF airways, impacts P. aeruginosa biofilm development and function.
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2005.04941.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2005.04941.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 16359324
AN - SCOPUS:33645088965
VL - 59
SP - 142
EP - 151
JO - Molecular Microbiology
JF - Molecular Microbiology
SN - 0950-382X
IS - 1
ER -