Moscoso Miriam, García Ernesto, López Rubens
Department of Molecular Microbiology, Biological Research Center, Madrid, Spain.
Int Microbiol. 2009 Jun;12(2):77-85.
Over 60% of bacterial infections (and up to 80% of chronic infections) are currently considered to involve microbial growth in biofilms. This peculiar form of life poses an array of problems in human clinical practice, from infections associated with the implant of prosthetic devices and dental plaque formation to diseases such as cystic fibrosis, otitis media, and endocarditis. Biofilms are also at the basis of a variety of problems in industry. This report describes the biofilms produced by Streptococcus pneumoniae. This bacterium often colonizes the upper airways in humans as a normal commensal, yet it may spread to other areas of the body, causing otitis media, pneumonia, or invasive diseases such as bacteremia and meningitis. The capacity of S. pneumoniae to form biofilms had not been explored until recently. Several newly developed in vitro systems have allowed to test the capacity of S. pneumoniae to form biofilms, and to analyze the influence of several factors, including DNA and proteins-which play a role in the virulence of this "supergerm" in the formation and development of biofilms. In this brief review, we update the knowledge available on pneumococcal biofilm formation and the unusual features of this structure.
目前，超过60%的细菌感染（慢性感染中这一比例高达80%）被认为与生物膜中的微生物生长有关。这种特殊的生命形式在人类临床实践中引发了一系列问题，从与假体植入和牙菌斑形成相关的感染到诸如囊性纤维化、中耳炎和心内膜炎等疾病。生物膜也是工业中各种问题的根源。本报告描述了肺炎链球菌产生的生物膜。这种细菌通常作为正常共生菌定殖于人类上呼吸道，但它可能扩散到身体的其他部位，导致中耳炎、肺炎或诸如菌血症和脑膜炎等侵袭性疾病。直到最近，肺炎链球菌形成生物膜的能力才得到研究。几种新开发的体外系统已能够测试肺炎链球菌形成生物膜的能力，并分析包括DNA和蛋白质在内的多种因素的影响，这些因素在这种“超级细菌”的毒力以及生物膜的形成和发展中发挥作用。在这篇简短的综述中，我们更新了关于肺炎球菌生物膜形成及该结构异常特征的现有知识。
