Pseudomonas Is A Key Opportunistic. Pathogen Characterized By High Level Antibiotic Resistance And Biofilm Formation

Unlike many environmental bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa has a remarkable capacity to cause disease in susceptible hosts. It has the ability to adapt to and thrive in many ecological niches, from water and soil to plant and animal tissues. The bacterium is capable of utilizing a wide range of organic compounds as food sources, thus giving it an exceptional ability to

“Bacterial illness is a result of complex interactions between bacteria and the host. During evolution, humans developed many ways to protect themselves against bacterial pathogens. On the other hand, bacteria have developed strategies to evade, subvert or circumvent these defenses” (Sousa, 2003) “One of the most important characteristics of bacterial pathogenicity is the various strategies developed by prokaryotic organisms to use host molecules for their own benefit” (Sousa, 2003). “To accomplish this, bacteria have evolved elaborate control mechanisms to turn genes on and off, varying the transcriptional activator or

Biofilms play a crucial role in the persistence of lung infections in CF patients due to the protective extracellular matrix that is formed by the bacterial community (5). This barrier limits the penetration of antibiotics and results in varying nutrient gradients, allowing for a diverse range of bacteria (5). Bacteria inside this biofilm are able to sense the presence of other cells, and alter their properties accordingly to suit the environment. This is particularly interesting as the bacterial communities within a biofilm may compete with each other for dominance in the biofilm (6). Therefore, bacterial competition may impact the treatment and actions needed to treat biofilms in the lungs of CF patients

The bacterium is capable of producing biofilms that allow microorganisms to stick to solid surfaces forming an attachment, which is enclosed by a slime layer ("Staphylococcus epidermis"). Biofilms protect pathogens from being destroyed by disinfectants inside human bodies ("Staphylococcus epidermis"). In other words, biofilms aid pathogens in causing diseases by releasing microbial products ("Staphylococcus

Enterobacter cloacae is a common Gram-negative bacterium. It belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae. Enterobacter cloacae is an opportunistic bacteria and has emerged as a nosocomial pathogen within the last decade.1 E. cloacae is more prominant within intensive care units, especially those patients who are on mechanical ventilation.1 Antibiotic-resistance is one of the well-known features of this microorganism.1 A trail was conducted to determine how exactly Enterobacter cloacae works in regards to its pathogenicity, but unfortunately only a few mechanisms are understood. The few processes that are known include its ability to produce biofilms as well as secrete numerous cytotoxins.1

Stover, C. K., Pham, X. Q., Erwin, A. L. Mizoguchi, S. D., Warrener, P. Hickey, M. J., Brickman, F.S. LOlson, M. V. (2000) Complete genome sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, an opportunistic pathogen. Nature: International journal of science. Nature 406: 959-964. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/35023079#main

Background: Cystic fibrosis facilitated chronic lung infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa have caused many great tribulations within the healthcare field. As a highly opportunistic bacteria, many treatments fail to fully eradicate the biofilms layers within the thick mucosal membrane, which lines the lungs of CF patients.2 The median life expectancy for CF patients is around 40 years, however those who acquire P. aeruginosa within

The effectiveness of disease treatment is often presented by the challenge of antimicrobial resistance. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) for example, is a pulmonary infection characterized by the poly-microbial growth of bacteria within biofilms, in the pulmonary tract of humans. For children suffering from CF, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) initially colonizes their airways, which with age, becomes replaced by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). The eradication of P. aeruginosa by antibiotics fails in 10-40% of CF patients. In the article, it was proven that there existed an interaction between the staphylococcal protein A (SpA) from S. aureus filtrates (SaF, a bacterial supernatant of S. aureus), and an exopolysaccharide (Psl) of P. aeruginosa. This interaction lead to the aggregation and increased resistance to tobramycin¬ – an antibiotic used to eradicate P. aeruginosa, to prevent chronic colonization of the bacteria. The study conducted involved 7 samples of P. aeruginosa that were taken from individuals who underwent successful eradication treatment, and 7 samples from individuals who still had persistent isolates. These P. aeruginosa samples were cultured for 24 hours in media. When SaF was added to the overnight preformed biofilms, the eradicated isolates were not affected by the SaF; however, the persistent isolates showed significant reduction is surface coverage due to densely packed cellular aggregation, without affecting the biomass or viability of persistent isolates. The

S. aureus responsible for 70% skin infection in children, moreover, the incidence of skin infection caused by MRSA is in a continuous increasing (Nataraj et al., 2014). Pseudomonas aeruginosa is gram-negative bacteria, it is classic opportunistic bacteria and are often severe, life-threatening and difficult to treat due to it has an innate resistance to many of antibiotic and disinfection (Bangera D et al., 2015; Wendell Lou B. Ladion et al., 2015). P. aeruginosa recently acquired significant as one of the most important organisms that cause nosocomial infection due to having an ability to survive in hospital environments, in addition, it has the ability to develop resistance against many antimicrobial agents (Nagoba et al., 2013). Wound infection caused by P. aeruginosa rapidly deteriorating and lead to systemic spread and therefore death within days or weeks (Turner et al., 2014). Escherichia coli is gram negative bacteria and considered as a member of the Enterobacteriaceae, it is innocuous resident in a gastrointestinal tract, but at the same time has the ability to cause

discoideum (SOURCE). P. aeruginosa is a Gram-negative pathogen that causes life-threatening infections in people with compromised immune systems, such as those undergoing chemotherapy or those with cycstic fibrosis. The bacteria is commonly seen in nosocomial infections (hospital-acquired infections), such as pneumonia, UTIs, and sepsis. First, it was tested whether or not P. aeruginosa could infect D. discoideum. P. aeruginosa strain PA14 was grown in LB, collected through centrifugation, and resuspended in SorC buffer (16.7 mM Na2H/KH2PO4/50 microM CaCl2, pH 6.0). D. discoideum was added to the bacterial suspension to create final concentration of 500 cells/ml. 0.2 ml of the mixture was pipetted on to SM/5 plates containing 1/5 of a SM stock solution (1% glucose/1% Bacto peptone/0.1% Bacto yeast extract/4.2 mM MgSO4). As a control, D. discoideum was also plated with Klebsilla aerogenes, which was known to be non-pathogenic towards D. discoideum. This first assay showed that the strain PA14 could infect D.

It is very difficult to treat bacterial biofilm infection. Antibiotic treatment by itself is not enough to destroy biofilm infections adequately. Overall, the approaches to combat biofilms can be categorized into two groups depending if the infection involves a foreign body or not. If the biofilm infection does not involving a foreign body (such as indwelling implants), continuing treatment using high doses of combination of several antibiotics with different mode of action toward the bacteria is used to combat the infection. On the other hand, if a foreign body is involved in the biofilm infection, extraction of the implant is needed for positive result. In some cases, only physical reduction of the biofilm is possible (using mechanical methods)

The bacteria that was contained within Unknown tube #12 is believed to be Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Figure 1. The bacteria tested to be Gram Stain negative, producing a pink, red color retained from the staining process. When the species of bacteria was plated on nutrient media, the cells produced an irregular and spreading configuration as shown in Figure 2. This same plating test provided the margins and elevation, lobate and hilly, respectively. The specimen was stabbed in a Fluid Thioglycollate Medium (FTM) tube using an inoculated loop of the bacteria. The results of this experimentation indicate the type of oxygen requirement of the bacteria. The test found the bacteria to be aerobic as colonies of the bacteria began to form along the top of the FTM tube (Manual 2017).

Bacterial urinary tract infections represent the most common type of nosocomial infections. Often, the ability of bacteria to both establish and maintain these infections are directly related to biofilm formation on indwelling devices or within the urinary tract itself (30). Enterococci (especially E. faecalis) are one of the main causative agents of urinary tract infection and Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) besides gram-negative pathogens (31, 32). In these infections Biofilm provides a favorable milieu for microbial survival within the host as the organisms are shielded from the host immune response, as well as antibiotics and antimicrobial agents (33, 34). Several studies conducted to introduce main virulence genes of enterococci that are associated with biofilm formation in these bacteria (11, 13,-17), but virulence mechanism and related genes for biofilm formation are not well understood (35). In this study we investigated biofilm formation of clinical enterococci isolates isolated from Urinary tract infections. These strains were characterized for presence of adhesions and secretory virulence factors. Isolates had diverse presence of virulence from lack to highest amount of virulence genes. Several previous studies investigated relation of virulence genes and biofilm formation, especially presence of esp and gel. Enterococci esp has been implicated as a contributing factor in colonization and persistence of infection within the urinary tract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for severe gram-negative infections in several body systems. While it rarely infects healthy individuals, this microorganism is responsible for acute and chronic diseases in patients with compromised immune systems.1-3 Acute diseases involve pneumonia,4 while chronic infections include cystic fibrosis,5,6 which are complicated and can often be life-threatening. Numerous factors enabling infections to occur, such as the biotoxins released by this bacterium, are documented.7-9 However, little is known about which signals cause Pseudomonas aeruginosa to acquire a pathogenic character. Monitoring the production of these signals could provide further understanding about the opportunistic

Biofilms are hard to treat for many reasons. The main reason is because they are highly resistant to antibiotics. This is because the outer cells protect the inner cells from the antibiotic. Therefore, a long-term treatment of antibiotics is required to help the biofilm related infection. Living in groups, give bacteria properties they didn't have when living alone. Another reason they're hard to treat is because they are undefeatable by the body's natural immune defense system. Biofilms avoid chemical disinfection in two different ways. The first is that a gel-like polysaccharide layer provides a physical barrier against any outside agent, biological or chemical. The second is that even if a biocidal agent is introduced in a large enough quantity to eliminate the living bacteria, then