Staphylococcus aureus biofilms: an opportunistic pathogen with multidrug resistance

Abstract

Studies related to bacterial biofilm formation are extremely relevant because of their constant association with several human diseases. The organization of this sessile microbial community provides protection against opsonization and phagocytosis. It is responsible for hampering not only the immune system performance against infections but also antimicrobial activity. Staphylococcus aureus is part of healthy human microbiota including skin and nasal vestibule. However, many strains have become opportunistic pathogens because of the ability of biofilm formation in implants and medical devices by using them as route of access to bloodstream. S. aureus’ ability of biofilm formation is widely known and it has been responsible for several infections, such as endocarditis, bacteremia and sepsis. Several factors contribute to biofilm formation including expression of specific genes and interaction between proteins involved in adhesion to substrate. This work aims to explore the main aspects related to biofilm formation by S. aureus, using tools as data index bases from the scientific literature: Google Scholar, LILACS, MEDLINE (PubMed), SciELO, Scopus and Book/eBook, between July 2018 and February 2019, in English, Spanish and Portuguese. This review aims to provide a better understanding of biofilm formation and its impact on host health.

Correlation Between Biofilm-Formation and the Antibiotic Resistant Phenotype in Staphylococcus aureus Isolates: A Laboratory-Based Study in Hungary and a Review of the Literature

“…Additionally, consistency-assessment was also performed between the results of the two different biofilm-production studies (CV assay vs CRA agar). 30…”

“…26 Owing to this resistance against antibiotics and the protective effects of biofilms against harsh environmental stressors (eg, sheer forces, drying) and the immune system (eg, phagocytosis), it is unsurprising that biofilms are an important virulence factor in the development of skin and soft tissue infections, catheter-(intravascular or urinary) and medical device-associated infections, oral infections, dental caries and chronic infections. [27][28][29][30] At present, the group of "ESKAPE" bacteria -which is a list consisting of MDR pathogens, including MRSA -is considered as the most concerning in respect to their resistance rates, clinical impact and mortality. 31 of the ESKAPE-members are biofilm-producers, there has been significant interest in assessing the possible relationship between their MDR status and the biofilm-producer phenotype.…”

Antibacterial Coatings for Titanium Implants: Recent Trends and Future Perspectives

“…Coating titanium implants with antimicrobial agents has been one of the common strategies to prevent IAIs [ 16 ] ( Figure 2 ). Among the pathogenic bacteria that cause IAIs, the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus is the most widely studied [ 17 ]. Staphylococcus aureus can form multicellular biofilms that shield the bacterial cells from the host immune system [ 18 ].…”

Antibiotic resistance modifying ability of phytoextracts in anthrax biological agent Bacillus anthracis and emerging superbugs: a review of synergistic mechanisms

“…S. aureus can exist as part of the human flora and can cause opportunistic infections. Being genetically diverse, these organisms can evolve into epidemic strains like MRSA [57,58]. These MRSA are formidable clinical threats and are considered as archetypal hospital superbugs that are responsible for causing serious bloodborne infections like sepsis and infective endocarditis [59,60].…”