Browsing by Author "Costerton, J. William"

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Anaerobic biofilm infections in cystic fibrosis
(2012-10) Costerton, J. William
Antibiotic resistance of bacteria in biofilms
(2001-07) Stewart, Philip S.; Costerton, J. William
Bacteria that adhere to implanted medical devices or damaged tissue can encase themselves in a hydrated matrix of polysaccharide and protein, and form a slimy layer known as a biofilm. Antibiotic resistance of bacteria in the biofilm mode of growth contributes to the chronicity of infections such as those associated with implanted medical devices. The mechanisms of resistance in biofilms are different from the now familiar plasmids, transposons, and mutations that confer innate resistance to individual bacterial cells. In biofilms, resistance seems to depend on multicellular strategies. We summarize the features of biofilm infections, review emerging mechanisms of resistance, and discuss potential therapies.
Antimicrobial activity of a novel catheter lock solution
(2002-06) Shah, Chirag B.; Mittelman, M. W.; Costerton, J. William; Parenteau, Stephen; Pelak, Michael; Arsenault, Richard; Mermel, Leonard A.
Intravascular catheter-associated bloodstream infections significantly increase rates of morbidity and hospital costs. Microbial colonization and development of biofilms, which are known to be recalcitrant to antibiotic therapy, often lead to the loss of otherwise patent vascular access systems. We evaluated a new taurolidine- and citrate-based catheter lock solution (Neutrolin; Biolink Corporation, Norwell, Mass.) for its activity against planktonic microbes, antimicrobial activity in a catheter model, and biofilm eradication activity. In studies of planktonic microbes, after 24 h of contact, 675 mg of taurolidine-citrate solution per liter caused >99% reductions in the initial counts of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Entercoccus faecalis. A solution of 13,500 mg/liter was cidal for Candida albicans. Ports and attached catheters inoculated with 50 to 600 CFU of these bloodstream isolates per ml were locked with heparin or the taurolidine-citrate solution. After 72 h, there was no growth in the taurolidine-citrate-treated devices but the heparin-treated devices exhibited growth in the range of 6 x 102 to 5 x 106 CFU/ml. Biofilms were developed on silicone disks in modified Robbins devices with broth containing 6% serum (initial counts, 106 to 108 CFU/cm2). The axenic biofilms were treated for 24 h with taurolidine-citrate or heparin. Taurolidine-citrate exposure resulted in a median reduction of 4.8 logs, whereas heparin treatment resulted in a median reduction of 1.7 logs (P < 0.01). No significant differences in the effects of the two treatments against P. aeruginosa and C. albicans were observed. These findings suggest that aurolidine-citrate is a promising combination agent for the prevention and treatment of intravascular catheter-related infections.
The application of biofilm science to the study and control of bacterial infections
(2003-11) Costerton, J. William; Veeh, Richard Harold; Shirtliff, Mark E.; Pasmore, M.; Post, C.; Ehrlich, Garth D.
Unequivocal direct observations have established that the bacteria that cause device-related and other chronic infections grow in matrix-enclosed biofilms. The diagnostic and therapeutic strategies that have served us so well in the partial eradication of acute epidemic bacterial diseases have not yielded accurate data or favorable outcomes when applied to these biofilm diseases. We discuss the potential benefits of the application of the new methods and concepts developed by biofilm science and engineering to the clinical management of infectious diseases.
Application of epifluorescence microscopy to the enumeration of aquatic bacterial concentrated on membrane filters
(1981) Geesey, Gill G.; Costerton, J. William
Assessment of a chemostat-coupled modified robbins device to study biofilms
(1995-10) Jass, J.; Costerton, J. William; Lappin-Scott, H. M.
The combination of a modified Robbins device (MRD) attached to the effluent line of a continuous cultivation vessel was assessed by the adhesion of planktonic bacteria maintained at a controlled growth rate. This combination of a chemostat and an MRD provides a large number of sample surfaces for monitoring both the formation and control of biofilms over extended periods of time. This apparatus was used to monitor the colonization of two soil isolates,Pseudomonas fluorescens (EX101) andPseudomonas putida (EX102) onto silastic rubber surfaces. At a similar μrel, both bacteria attached to the silastic, howeverP. fluorescens formed confluent, dense biofilms in less than 24 h, whereasP. putida adhered as single cells or microcolonies after the same period. The metabolic activity, measured by INT-formazan formation, was similar for both organisms with a peak at 6 h of colonization and a subsequent decrease after 24 h. Long term colonization studies ofP. fluorescens produced a population of greater than 9.5 log cfu cm−2 at 28 days demonstrating the advantages of the chemostat-MRD association. This technique proved to be successful for studying bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation in tubular devices by bacterial populations at controlled and low growth rates.
Attenuation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence by quorum sensing inhibitors
(2003-08) Hentzer, Morten; Wu, Hong; Andersen, Jens B.; Riedel, Kathrin; Rasmussen, Thomas B.; Bagge, Niels; Kumar, Naresh; Schembri, Mark A.; Song, Zhijun; Kristoffersen, Peter; Manefield, Mike; Costerton, J. William; Molin, Søren; Eberl, Leo; Steinberg, Peter; Kjelleberg, Staffan; Høiby, Niels; Givskov, Michael
Traditional treatment of infectious diseases is based on compounds that kill or inhibit growth of bacteria. A major concern with this approach is the frequent development of resistance to antibiotics. The discovery of communication systems (quorum sensing systems) regulating bacterial virulence has afforded a novel opportunity to control infectious bacteria without interfering with growth. Compounds that can override communication signals have been found in the marine environment. Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 as an example of an opportunistic human pathogen, we show that a synthetic derivate of natural furanone compounds can act as a potent antagonist of bacterial quorum sensing. We employed GeneChip microarray technology to identify furanone target genes and to map the quorum sensing regulon. The transcriptome analysis showed that the furanone drug specifically targeted quorum sensing systems and inhibited virulence factor expression. Application of the drug to P. aeruginosa biofilms increased bacterial susceptibility to tobramycin and SDS. In a mouse pulmonary infection model, the drug inhibited quorum sensing of the infecting bacteria and promoted their clearance by the mouse immune response.
Bacterial biofilms in nature and disease
(1987-01) Costerton, J. William; Cheng, K. -J.; Geesey, Gill G.; Ladd, Timothy I.; Nickel, J. Curtis; Dasgupta, Mrinal; Marrie, Thomas J.
The growth of bacteria in pure cultures has been the mainstay of microbiologicaltechnique from the time of Pasteur to the present. Solid media techniques have allowed the isolation of individual species from complex natural populations. These pure isolates are intensively studied as they grow in batch cultures in nutrient-rich media. This experimental approach has served well in providing an increasingly accurate understanding of prokaryotic genetics and metabolism and in facilitating the isolation and identification of pathogens in a wide variety of diseases. Further, vaccines and antibiotics developed on the basis of in vitro data and tested on test-tube bacteria have provided a large measure of control of these pathogenic organisms.During the last two decades microbial ecologists have developed a series of exciting new techniques for the examination of bacteria growing in vivo, and often in situ, in natural environments and in pathogenic relationships with tissues. The data suggest that these organisms differ profoundly from cells of the same species grown in vitro. Brown & Williams (12) have shown that bacteria growing in infected tissues produce cell surface components not found on cells grown in vitro and that a whole spectrum of cell wall structures may be produced in cells of the same species in response to variations in nutrient status, surface growth, and other environmental factors (67). We and others (28) have used direct ecological methods to examine bacterial cells growing in natural and pathogenic ecosystems, and we find that many important populations grow in adherent biofilms and structured consortia that are not seen in pure cultures growing in nutrient-rich media. In fact, it is difficult to imagine actual natural or pathogenic ecosystems in which the bacteria would be as well nourished and as well protected as they are in single-species batch cultures.In this review we summarize and synthesize the data generated by the new direct methods of studying mixed natural bacterial populations in situ. Generally, morphological data give us a basic concept of community structure, direct bioch emical techniques monitor metabolic processes at the whole community level, and specific probes define cell surface structures in situ. Any in vitr o techniques used in these ecological studies are sel ected to mimic the natural ecosystem as closely as possible. In our estimation, data from studies of bacter ia growing in single-species batch cultures continue to be very valuable. However, these data represent a single, and perhaps unrepresentative, point in the broad spectrum of bacterial characteristics expressed in response to altered environmental factors. In retrospect, it may become apparent that the phenotypic plasticity of bacteri a (12, 107) and their ability to form structured and cooperative consortia will prove to be their most remarkable characteristics.
Bacterial Biofilms in Relation to Internal Corrosion Monitoring and Biocide Strategies
(1988) Costerton, J. William; Geesey, Gill G.; Jones, P. A.
This paper is a review of leading research in the field of bacterial corrosion monitoring with specific emphasis on systems that transport liquids rather than gases. However, the principles of bacterial corrosion presented below are universal and independent of whatever media is transported through the pipeline. It has now been established that the primary mechanism of bacterial corrosion of metal surfaces involves the creation, within an adherent biofilm, of local physiochemical ''corrosion cells''. The practical consequence of this perception is that we now know that bacteria must be in sustained contact with a metal surface, in well-organized microbial communities before the corrosion process is initiated. Decades of research in Aquatic Microbiology have shown that numbers and types of planktonic (floating) bacteria bear little relationship to the numbers and types of sessile (adherent) bacteria in biofilms in the same system, and that planktonic bacteria are much more susceptible to antibacterial agents than are their sessile counterparts.
Bacterial biofilms: A common cause of persistent infections
(1999-05) Costerton, J. William; Stewart, Philip S.; Greenberg, E. P.
Bacteria that attach to surfaces aggregate in a hydrated polymeric matrix of their own synthesis to form biofilms. Formation of these sessile communities and their inherent resistance to antimicrobial agents are at the root of many persistent and chronic bacterial infections. Studies of biofilms have revealed differentiated, structured groups of cells with community properties. Recent advances in our understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of bacterial community behavior point to therapeutic targets that may provide a means for the control of biofilm infections.
Bacterial biofilms: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge
(2003-12) Fux, C. A.; Stoodley, Paul; Hall-Stoodley, Luanne; Costerton, J. William
Bacteria have traditionally been regarded as individual organisms growing in homogeneous planktonic populations. However, bacteria in natural environments usually form communities of surface-adherent organisms embedded in an extracellular matrix, called biofilms. Current antimicrobial strategies often fail to control bacteria in the biofilm mode of growth. Treatment failure is particularly frequent in association with intracorporeal or transcutaneous medical devices and compromised host immunity. The rising prevalence of these risk factors over the last decades has paralleled the increase in biofilm infections. This review discusses the shortcomings of current therapies against biofilms both in theory and with clinical examples. Biofilm characteristics are described with a focus on new diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
Bacterial biofilms: From the environment to infectious disease
(2004-02) Hall-Stoodley, Luanne; Costerton, J. William; Stoodley, Paul
Biofilms—matrix-enclosed microbial accretions that adhere to biological or non-biological surfaces—represent a significant and incompletely understood mode of growth for bacteria. Biofilm formation appears early in the fossil record (3.25 billion years ago) and is common throughout a diverse range of organisms in both the Archaea and Bacteria lineages, including the 'living fossils' in the most deeply dividing branches of the phylogenetic tree. It is evident that biofilm formation is an ancient and integral component of the prokaryotic life cycle, and is a key factor for survival in diverse environments. Recent advances show that biofilms are structurally complex, dynamic systems with attributes of both primordial multicellular organisms and multifaceted ecosystems. Biofilm formation represents a protected mode of growth that allows cells to survive in hostile environments and also disperse to colonize new niches. The implications of these survival and propagative mechanisms in the context of both the natural environment and infectious diseases are discussed in this review. Full test provided (pdf) with permission of: Future Drugs.
Bacterial doubling time modulates the effects of opsonisation and available iron upon interactions between staphylococcus aureus and human neutrophils
(1996-12) Domingue, Gill; Costerton, J. William; Brown, Michael R. W.
Staphylococcus aureus was grown exponentially at two doubling times (DT), one related to in vivo (DT 60 min) and one typical of laboratory conditions (DT 24 min), and under iron-poor and iron-rich conditions. Relative to the fast-grown phenotypes, both slow-grown phenotypes exhibited low surface hydrophobicity and low protein A expression, induced poorly in non-opsonised and opsonised chemiluminescence, and survived well in whole blood killing. In particular, slow-grown, iron-poor cocci demonstrated enhanced survival in whole blood killing which correlated with a significant reduction in their association with polymorphonuclear leukocytes, compared to the three other phenotypes; iron sufficiency increased the ability to stimulate polymorphonuclear leukocytes irrespective of opsonisation status. Staphylococcal DT may, by influencing surface hydrophobicity, modify interactions with immune system components.
Basic science of musculoskeletal infections
(2003-01) Shirtliff, Mark E.; Leid, Jeff G.; Costerton, J. William
Battling biofilms
(2001-07) Costerton, J. William; Stewart, Philip S.
Biofilm formation by porphyromonas gingivalis and streptococcus gordonii
(1998) Cook, Guy S.; Costerton, J. William; Lamont, Richard J.
Confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) was used to visualize and quantify biofilm formation by the oral bacteria Streptococcus gordonii and Porphyromonas gingivalis, A saliva-coated glass coverslip under continuous bacterial challenge and conditions of low shear force was used to investigate attachment to the salivary pellicle and also the effect of cell-cell interactions on the extent of colonization and biofilm development. S. gordonii bound to the salivary pellicle and outcompeted P. gingivalis for attachment sites. Both P. gingivalis and S. gordonii failed to establish substantial biofilm formation independently. However, biofilm formation did occur subsequent to initial adherence of P. gingivalis to S. gordonii cells deposited on the salivary pellicle. The commensal species S. gordonii may. therefore, provide an attachment substrate for colonization and biofilm accretion by the potential pathogen, P. gingivalis.
The biofilm lifestyle
(1997-04) Costerton, J. William; Lewandowski, Zbigniew
Biofilm process in porous media - practical applications
(1997) Cunningham, Alfred B.; Warwood, B. K.; Sturman, Paul J.; Horrigan, K.; James, Garth A.; Costerton, J. William; Hiebert, Dwight Randall
Biofilm removal from silicone tubing: an assessment of the efficacy of dialysis machine decontamination procedures using an in vitro model
(2003-01) Marion-Ferey, Karine; Pasmore, M.; Stoodley, Paul; Wilson, Suzanne; Husson, Gilles; Costerton, J. William
The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of 21 decontamination procedures, for the removal of a multispecies biofilm. Experiments were performed on five-day-old biofilms grown inside silicone tubing, using a reactor system that mimics a dialysis machine. The treatments were tested on 5 cm tubing samples. Effects of treatment were measured using direct microscopy following staining. Bacterial viability and endotoxin removal were determined using conventional microbiological methods following biofilm detachment by scraping. The 21 procedures were classified into four groups based on the amount of biofilm removed. The most effective treatment was an acid pre-treatment, followed by use of a concentrated bleach solution. Acid pre-treatment removes calcium and magnesium carbonate crystals that are always found in dialysis biofilms. Treatments performed at high temperature did not increase the efficacy of biofilm removal. Most treatments caused at least a 105-fold reduction in bacterial viability with a few resulting in complete kill. Autoclaved and bleach-treated samples gave the best results for viability reduction, with both treatments providing an equally effective and complete kill. In addition, autoclaving led to a significant decrease in endotoxin level (removal of 99.99%).
Biofilms and device-related infections
(2000) Costerton, J. William; Stewart, Philip S.