TY - JOUR
T1 - Pneumococci in biofilms are non-invasive
T2 - Implications on nasopharyngeal colonization
AU - Gilley, Ryan P.
AU - Orihuela, Carlos J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Gilley and Orihuela.
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is an opportunistic pathogen that colonizes the human nasopharynx asymptomatically. Invasive pneumococcal disease develops following bacterial aspiration into the lungs. Pneumococci within the nasopharynx exist as biofilms, a growth phenotype characterized by surface attachment, encasement within an extracellular matrix, and antimicrobial resistance. Experimental evidence indicates that biofilm pneumococci are attenuated vs. their planktonic counterpart. Biofilm pneumococci failed to cause invasive disease in experimentally challenged mice and in vitro were shown to be non-invasive despite being hyper-adhesive. This attenuated phenotype corresponds with observations that biofilm pneumococci elicit significantly less cytokine and chemokine production from host cells than their planktonic counterparts. Microarray and proteomic studies show that pneumococci within biofilms have decreased metabolism, less capsular polysaccharide, and reduced production of the pore-forming toxin pneumolysin. Biofilm pneumococci are predominately in the transparent phenotype, which has elevated cell wall phosphorylcholine, an adhesin subject to C-reactive protein mediated opsonization. Herein, we review these changes in virulence, interpret their impact on colonization and transmission, and discuss the notion that non-invasive biofilms are principal lifestyle of S. pneumoniae.
AB - Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is an opportunistic pathogen that colonizes the human nasopharynx asymptomatically. Invasive pneumococcal disease develops following bacterial aspiration into the lungs. Pneumococci within the nasopharynx exist as biofilms, a growth phenotype characterized by surface attachment, encasement within an extracellular matrix, and antimicrobial resistance. Experimental evidence indicates that biofilm pneumococci are attenuated vs. their planktonic counterpart. Biofilm pneumococci failed to cause invasive disease in experimentally challenged mice and in vitro were shown to be non-invasive despite being hyper-adhesive. This attenuated phenotype corresponds with observations that biofilm pneumococci elicit significantly less cytokine and chemokine production from host cells than their planktonic counterparts. Microarray and proteomic studies show that pneumococci within biofilms have decreased metabolism, less capsular polysaccharide, and reduced production of the pore-forming toxin pneumolysin. Biofilm pneumococci are predominately in the transparent phenotype, which has elevated cell wall phosphorylcholine, an adhesin subject to C-reactive protein mediated opsonization. Herein, we review these changes in virulence, interpret their impact on colonization and transmission, and discuss the notion that non-invasive biofilms are principal lifestyle of S. pneumoniae.
KW - Biofilms
KW - Colonization
KW - Streptococcus pneumoniae
KW - Transmission
KW - Virulence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84915822136&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.3389/fcimb.2014.00163
DO - 10.3389/fcimb.2014.00163
M3 - Short survey
C2 - 25414838
AN - SCOPUS:84915822136
VL - 4
JO - Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology
JF - Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology
SN - 2235-2988
IS - NOV
M1 - 163
ER -