In this study we evaluated the effect of chitosan nanoparticles on the acid tolerance response (A... more In this study we evaluated the effect of chitosan nanoparticles on the acid tolerance response (ATR) of adhered Streptococcus mutans. An ATR was induced by exposing S. mutans to pH 5.5 for 2 h and confirmed by exposing the acid-adapted cells to pH 3.5 for 30 min, with the majority of cells appearing viable according to the LIVE/DEAD® technique. However, when chitosan nanoparticles were present during the exposure to pH 5.5, no ATR occurred as most cells appeared dead after the pH 3.5 shock. We conclude that the chitosan nanoparticles tested had the ability to hinder ATR induction in adhered S. mutans.
Aim To determine whether bacteria isolated from infected root canals survive alkaline shifts bet... more Aim To determine whether bacteria isolated from infected root canals survive alkaline shifts better in biofilms than in planktonic cultures.Methodology Clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecalis, Lactobacillus paracasei, Olsenella uli, Streptococcus anginosus, S. gordonii, S. oralis and Fusobacterium nucleatum in biofilm and planktonic cultures were stressed at pH 10.5 for 4 h, and cell viability determined using the fluorescent staining LIVE/DEAD BacLight bacterial viability kit. In addition, proteins released into extracellular culture fluids were identified by Western blotting.Results Enterococcus faecalis, L. paracasei, O. uli and S. gordonii survived in high numbers in both planktonic cultures and in biofilms after alkaline challenge. S. anginosus, S. oralis and F. nucleatum showed increased viability in biofilms compared with planktonic cultures. Alkaline exposure caused all planktonic cultures to aggregate into clusters and resulted in a greater extrusion of cellular proteins compared with cells in biofilms. Increased levels of DnaK, HPr and fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase were observed in culture fluids, especially amongst streptococci.Conclusions In general, bacteria isolated from infected roots canals resisted alkaline stress better in biofilms than in planktonic cultures, however, planktonic cells appeared to use aggregation and the extracellular transport of specific proteins as survival mechanisms.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is often found in chronic infections, including cystic fibrosis lung infec... more Pseudomonas aeruginosa is often found in chronic infections, including cystic fibrosis lung infections and those related to chronic wounds and venous ulcers. At the latter sites, P. aeruginosa can be isolated together with Staphylococcus epidermidis, and we have therefore explored the effect of clinical isolates and laboratory strains of P. aeruginosa strains on colonization by S. epidermidis in dual-species biofilms. Biofilm formation was assayed using 16S rRNA FISH and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Among the six P. aeruginosa strains tested, one particular strain, denoted 14:2, exerted a significant inhibitory effect, and even after 6 h, S. epidermidis levels in dual-species biofilms were reduced by >85% compared with those without P. aeruginosa. Interestingly, strain 14:2 was found to be negative for classical virulence determinants including pyocyanin, elastase and alkaline protease. Therefore, we suggest that less virulent phenotypes of P. aeruginosa, which may develop over time in chronic infections, could counteract colonization by S. epidermidis, ensuring persistence and dominance by P. aeruginosa in the host micro-habitat. Further studies are required to explain the inhibitory effect on S. epidermidis, although extracellular polysaccharides produced by P. aeruginosa might play a role in this phenomenon.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis are common opportunistic pathogens associat... more Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis are common opportunistic pathogens associated with medical device-related biofilm infections. 16S rRNA-FISH and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used to study these two bacteria in dual-species biofilms. Two of the four S. epidermidis strains used were shown to form biofilms more avidly on polymer surfaces than the other two strains. In dual-species biofilms, the presence of P. aeruginosa reduced biofilm formation by S. epidermidis, although different clinical isolates differed in their susceptibility to this effect. The most resistant isolate coexisted with P. aeruginosa for up to 18 h and was also resistant to the effects of the culture supernatant from P. aeruginosa biofilms, which caused dispersal from established biofilms of other S. epidermidis strains. Thus, different strains of S. epidermidis differed in their capacity to withstand the action of P. aeruginosa, with some being better equipped than others to coexist in biofilms with P. aeruginosa. Our data suggest that where S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa are present on abiotic surfaces such as medical devices, S. epidermidis biofilm formation can be inhibited by P. aeruginosa through two mechanisms: disruption by extracellular products, possibly polysaccharides, and, in the later stages, by cell lysis.
In this study we evaluated the effect of chitosan nanoparticles on the acid tolerance response (A... more In this study we evaluated the effect of chitosan nanoparticles on the acid tolerance response (ATR) of adhered Streptococcus mutans. An ATR was induced by exposing S. mutans to pH 5.5 for 2 h and confirmed by exposing the acid-adapted cells to pH 3.5 for 30 min, with the majority of cells appearing viable according to the LIVE/DEAD® technique. However, when chitosan nanoparticles were present during the exposure to pH 5.5, no ATR occurred as most cells appeared dead after the pH 3.5 shock. We conclude that the chitosan nanoparticles tested had the ability to hinder ATR induction in adhered S. mutans.
Aim To determine whether bacteria isolated from infected root canals survive alkaline shifts bet... more Aim To determine whether bacteria isolated from infected root canals survive alkaline shifts better in biofilms than in planktonic cultures.Methodology Clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecalis, Lactobacillus paracasei, Olsenella uli, Streptococcus anginosus, S. gordonii, S. oralis and Fusobacterium nucleatum in biofilm and planktonic cultures were stressed at pH 10.5 for 4 h, and cell viability determined using the fluorescent staining LIVE/DEAD BacLight bacterial viability kit. In addition, proteins released into extracellular culture fluids were identified by Western blotting.Results Enterococcus faecalis, L. paracasei, O. uli and S. gordonii survived in high numbers in both planktonic cultures and in biofilms after alkaline challenge. S. anginosus, S. oralis and F. nucleatum showed increased viability in biofilms compared with planktonic cultures. Alkaline exposure caused all planktonic cultures to aggregate into clusters and resulted in a greater extrusion of cellular proteins compared with cells in biofilms. Increased levels of DnaK, HPr and fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase were observed in culture fluids, especially amongst streptococci.Conclusions In general, bacteria isolated from infected roots canals resisted alkaline stress better in biofilms than in planktonic cultures, however, planktonic cells appeared to use aggregation and the extracellular transport of specific proteins as survival mechanisms.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is often found in chronic infections, including cystic fibrosis lung infec... more Pseudomonas aeruginosa is often found in chronic infections, including cystic fibrosis lung infections and those related to chronic wounds and venous ulcers. At the latter sites, P. aeruginosa can be isolated together with Staphylococcus epidermidis, and we have therefore explored the effect of clinical isolates and laboratory strains of P. aeruginosa strains on colonization by S. epidermidis in dual-species biofilms. Biofilm formation was assayed using 16S rRNA FISH and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Among the six P. aeruginosa strains tested, one particular strain, denoted 14:2, exerted a significant inhibitory effect, and even after 6 h, S. epidermidis levels in dual-species biofilms were reduced by >85% compared with those without P. aeruginosa. Interestingly, strain 14:2 was found to be negative for classical virulence determinants including pyocyanin, elastase and alkaline protease. Therefore, we suggest that less virulent phenotypes of P. aeruginosa, which may develop over time in chronic infections, could counteract colonization by S. epidermidis, ensuring persistence and dominance by P. aeruginosa in the host micro-habitat. Further studies are required to explain the inhibitory effect on S. epidermidis, although extracellular polysaccharides produced by P. aeruginosa might play a role in this phenomenon.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis are common opportunistic pathogens associat... more Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis are common opportunistic pathogens associated with medical device-related biofilm infections. 16S rRNA-FISH and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used to study these two bacteria in dual-species biofilms. Two of the four S. epidermidis strains used were shown to form biofilms more avidly on polymer surfaces than the other two strains. In dual-species biofilms, the presence of P. aeruginosa reduced biofilm formation by S. epidermidis, although different clinical isolates differed in their susceptibility to this effect. The most resistant isolate coexisted with P. aeruginosa for up to 18 h and was also resistant to the effects of the culture supernatant from P. aeruginosa biofilms, which caused dispersal from established biofilms of other S. epidermidis strains. Thus, different strains of S. epidermidis differed in their capacity to withstand the action of P. aeruginosa, with some being better equipped than others to coexist in biofilms with P. aeruginosa. Our data suggest that where S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa are present on abiotic surfaces such as medical devices, S. epidermidis biofilm formation can be inhibited by P. aeruginosa through two mechanisms: disruption by extracellular products, possibly polysaccharides, and, in the later stages, by cell lysis.
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Papers by Luis E. Chávez de Paz