Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #biofilm
Most recents (7)
Weekend Digest
Name the pathogen!
5 Clues: TMP-SMX, levofloxacin, minocycline, ceftazidime, ticarcillin-clavulanic acid
Name the pathogen!
5 Clues: TMP-SMX, levofloxacin, minocycline, ceftazidime, ticarcillin-clavulanic acid
2/
#Stenotrophomonas #maltophilia
Ubiquitous. Soil. Water. Plants.
Hospital environment.
Adheres to foreign materials. #biofilm formation
#Stenotrophomonas #maltophilia
Ubiquitous. Soil. Water. Plants.
Hospital environment.
Adheres to foreign materials. #biofilm formation
3/
#Stenotrophomonas #maltophilia
Hospital environment. Devices. Biofilm. —> nosocomial infections.
Two major syndromes:
1. Pneumonia - often ventilator associated
2. Bacteremia - often vascular catheter associated (especially in Heme/Onc/BMT patients)
#Stenotrophomonas #maltophilia
Hospital environment. Devices. Biofilm. —> nosocomial infections.
Two major syndromes:
1. Pneumonia - often ventilator associated
2. Bacteremia - often vascular catheter associated (especially in Heme/Onc/BMT patients)
Great to have our work on bacterial attachment in stent-on-chips published in @micromach_mdpi at mdpi.com/2072-666X/11/4…!
👇summary thread below👇
With @GarethLuTheryn @aliizzzzz94 @AMosayyebi @Center4Biofilm @MiNaTherGroup @uos_bioengsci @ukbiofilms @UoSEngineering 1/7
👇summary thread below👇
With @GarethLuTheryn @aliizzzzz94 @AMosayyebi @Center4Biofilm @MiNaTherGroup @uos_bioengsci @ukbiofilms @UoSEngineering 1/7
Obstructions of the ureter can be caused by a number of factors and affect the physiological flow of urine from kidney to bladder. To overcome this issue, ureteral stents which have side-holes bypassing urine from ureter to stent and viceversa, are clinically implanted. 2/7
However, stents are prone to complications leading to infection. We employed microfluidics to mimic flow dynamics in ureteral stents in different obstruction (obs) conditions: 1) unobstructed 2) obs at proximal side-hole 3) obs in between side-holes 4) obs next to side-hole. 3/7
Yes! For example this team showed that exposure to Wi-Fi radiofrequency #radiation for 5 hours modulated E. coli gene expression (52 #genes were upregated, 49 downregulated) 👉 that led to changes in several bacterial cellular + metabolic processes: nature.com/articles/s4159…
2/ This study found that exposure of E. coli #bacteria to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radiofrequency radiation increased their antibiotic resistance and motility 👉 Moreover, #biofilm formation was enhanced in E. coli, S. aureus + Staph epidermis: europepmc.org/articles/pmc68…
3/ It’s worth noting that bacterial communication in #biofilms is partly mediated by ion channel mediated #electrical signaling (even over long distances) 👉 Check out this interview I did w/ UCSD’s Gurol Suel on the topic: microbeminded.com/2018/01/29/20-…
@jenbrea Hey! Yes several people spoke on that topic at the recent #ILADs conference I was at 👉 and remember this case history which found that a woman treated w/ antibiotics to target persistent #Bartonella had substantial improvement in EDS symptoms: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
@jenbrea 2/2 As for #mast cell activation in response to persistent #pathogens...there is extensive literature on how a range of bacterial, viral and fungal pathogens can drive #MCAS-like symptoms 👉 for example: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
@jenbrea 3/3 There is even a receptor common in #connective tissue who’s activity controls mast cell activation in response to bacterial signaling molecules that drive #biofilm formation: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/31278…
1/1 Team uses range of technologies to study brain, heart, kidney + liver tissue of a patient w/ #Lyme disease who received many antibiotics over 16 yrs 👉 Identify significant pathological changes, including borrelial spirochetal clusters in all organs: mdpi.com/antibiotics/an…
2/2 The aggregates contained a well-established #biofilm marker, alginate, on their surfaces, suggesting they are true biofilm 👉 IHC analysis also showed significant numbers of infiltrating CD3+ T lymphocytes present next to #Borrelia burgdorferi biofilms
3/3 Team concludes 👉 “...we provide several lines of evidence that suggest that B. burgdorferi can persist in the human body, not only in the spirochetal but also in the #antibiotic-resistant biofilm form, even after long-term antibiotic treatment”
Wow this is major 👉 In simple terms, infection can change the #electrical properties of #macrophages in a way that eventually directs the white blood cells away from the site of #infection...allowing the escape of the macrophages that contain pathogens
Also, remember this study? 👉 which found that #bacteria in #biofilm communities not only coordinate their own behavior, but also influence the behavior of diverse species at a distance☝️via ion channel mediated long-range electrical signaling: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
And this study 👉 which found that #bacteria in the human gut can generate #electricity☝️The genes that code for this electrical transfer were identified in hundreds of bacterial species, including human pathogens: nature.com/articles/s4158…
Why is the future of chronic #inflammatory disease #polymicrobial (organisms interacting)? 👉 This paper describes how even in #Lyme Neuroborreliosis, different strains of Borrelia often persist in a #biofilm, or community-based form: frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…
The ability of Borrelia to form into #biofilm communities may 👉 “explain the low rate of Borrelia detection in the #blood of infected #patients as well as the ability of the #spirochetes to evade the host immune system and resist the antibiotic therapy”: frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…
Here are two images 👉 On the left, a #Borrelia biofilm as seen under a #microscope☝️On the right, a diagram showing how chronic, persister forms of Borrelia can survive inside a #biofilm: where they are better protected from the host immune response: frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…
