This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental material
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Anderson, G. G.
Right arrow Articles by O'Toole, G. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Anderson, G. G.
Right arrow Articles by O'Toole, G. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, April 2008, p. 1423-1433, Vol. 76, No. 4
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.01373-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

In Vitro Analysis of Tobramycin-Treated Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms on Cystic Fibrosis-Derived Airway Epithelial Cells{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Gregory G. Anderson,1 Sophie Moreau-Marquis,2 Bruce A. Stanton,2 and George A. O'Toole1*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755,1 Department of Physiology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire 037552

Received 11 October 2007/ Returned for modification 25 November 2007/ Accepted 13 January 2008

P. aeruginosa forms biofilms in the lungs of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF); however, there have been no effective model systems for studying biofilm formation in the CF lung. We have developed a tissue culture system for growth of P. aeruginosa biofilms on CF-derived human airway cells that promotes the formation of highly antibiotic-resistant microcolonies, which produce an extracellular polysaccharide matrix and require the known abiotic biofilm formation genes flgK and pilB. Treatment of P. aeruginosa biofilms with tobramycin reduced the virulence of the biofilms both by reducing bacterial numbers and by altering virulence gene expression. We performed microarray analysis of these biofilms on epithelial cells after treatment with tobramycin, and we compared these results with gene expression of (i) tobramycin-treated planktonic P. aeruginosa and (ii) tobramycin-treated P. aeruginosa biofilms on an abiotic surface. Despite the conservation in functions required to form a biofilm, our results show that the responses to tobramycin treatment of biofilms grown on biotic versus abiotic surfaces are different, as exemplified by downregulation of genes involved in Pseudomonas quinolone signal biosynthesis specifically in epithelial cell-grown biofilms versus plastic-grown biofilms. We also identified the gene PA0913, which is upregulated by tobramycin specifically in biofilms grown on CF airway cells and codes for a probable magnesium transporter, MgtE. Mutation of the PA0913 gene increased the bacterial virulence of biofilms on the epithelial cells, consistent with a role for the gene in the suppression of bacterial virulence. Taken together, our data show that analysis of biofilms on airway cells provides new insights into the interaction of these microbial communities with the host.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Dartmouth Medical School, Rm. 505 Vail Bldg., Hanover, NH 03755. Phone: (603) 650-1248. Fax: (603) 650-1245. E-mail: georgeo{at}Dartmouth.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 22 January 2008.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://iai.asm.org/.

Editor: A. Camilli

Infection and Immunity, April 2008, p. 1423-1433, Vol. 76, No. 4
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.01373-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Leid, J. G., Kerr, M., Selgado, C., Johnson, C., Moreno, G., Smith, A., Shirtliff, M. E., O'Toole, G. A., Cope, E. K. (2009). Flagellum-Mediated Biofilm Defense Mechanisms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa against Host-Derived Lactoferrin. Infect. Immun. 77: 4559-4566 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Moreau-Marquis, S., O'Toole, G. A., Stanton, B. A. (2009). Tobramycin and FDA-Approved Iron Chelators Eliminate Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms on Cystic Fibrosis Cells. Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Bio. 41: 305-313 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ballering, K. S., Kristich, C. J., Grindle, S. M., Oromendia, A., Beattie, D. T., Dunny, G. M. (2009). Functional Genomics of Enterococcus faecalis: Multiple Novel Genetic Determinants for Biofilm Formation in the Core Genome. J. Bacteriol. 191: 2806-2814 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»