Fighting Antibiotic Resistance By Breaking Up Biofilms

Blocking the formation of biofilms can enhance bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics and prevent the development of resistance, scientists say.

AsianScientist (Apr. 5, 2016) – Scientists in Singapore have discovered that antibiotics can continue to be effective if bacteria’s cell-to-cell communication and ability to latch on to each other are disrupted.

This research breakthrough is a major step forward in tackling the growing concern of antibiotic resistance, opening up new treatment options for doctors to help patients fight against chronic and persistent bacterial infections. Their work was published in Nature Communications.

The study, led by Assistant Professor Yang Liang from the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences at Nanyang Technological University, found that a community of bacteria, known as biofilm, can put up a strong line of defense to resist antibiotics. The team has successfully demonstrated how biofilms can be disrupted to let antibiotics continue their good work.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is rapidly growing worldwide, putting at risk the ability to treat common infections in the community and hospitals. According to the World Health Organization, without urgent, coordinated action, the world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era where common infections and minor injuries, which have been treatable for decades, can once again kill.

Yang’s team discovered the mechanisms of how bacteria are able to tolerate antibiotics by using a common bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The researchers allowed bacteria to form a wall of biofilm in a microfluidic system, at which point they introduced an antibiotic. A large portion of the bacterial cells were killed by the antibiotic, leaving only a small fraction of antibiotic-tolerant cells. However, these cells were able to reproduce rapidly and dominate the community.

The scientists then used an FDA-approved drug that disrupts cell-to-cell communication—known as quorum sensing—and velcro-like cells that can move and “stick” to each other. Together, they managed to kill all the bacterial cells.

The same tests were then performed on mice with infected implants. It was found that only mice treated with a combination of an anti-biofilm compound and antibiotics had their infections completely eradicated.

“The US Center for Disease Control estimates that over 60 percent of all bacterial infections are related to biofilms. Our study has shown that by disrupting the cell-to-cell communication between bacteria and their ability to latch on to each other, we can compromise the biofilms, leaving the bacteria vulnerable and easily killed by antibiotics,” said Yang.

“This will help existing drugs perform better at overcoming biofilm infections, which is commonly seen in cases of patients with artificial implants and chronic wounds, as they have very limited treatment options that are effective.”

Associate Professor Kevin Pethe from NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine said that this discovery may yield new treatment options that doctors can employ against chronic and persistent bacterial infections.

“Being able to disable biofilms and its protective benefits for the bacteria is a big step towards tackling the growing concern of antibiotic resistance,” said Pethe.

“While the scientific community is developing new types of antibiotics and antimicrobial treatments, this discovery may help to buy time by improving the effectiveness of older drugs.”



The article can be found at: Chua et al. (2016) Selective Labelling and Eradication of Antibiotic-tolerant Bacterial Populations in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms.

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Source: Nanyang Technological University.
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