Quorum-sensing signals indicate that cystic fibrosis lungs are infected with bacterial biofilms

Pradeep K. Singh, Amy L. Schaefer, Matthew R. Parsek, Thomas O. Moninger, Michael J. Welsh and E. P. Greenberg ()
Additional contact information
Pradeep K. Singh: University of Iowa College of Medicine
Amy L. Schaefer: University of Iowa College of Medicine
Matthew R. Parsek: Department of Civil Engineering Northwestern University
Thomas O. Moninger: University of Iowa College of Medicine
Michael J. Welsh: University of Iowa College of Medicine
E. P. Greenberg: University of Iowa College of Medicine

Nature, 2000, vol. 407, issue 6805, 762-764

Abstract: Abstract The bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa permanently colonizes cystic fibrosis lungs despite aggressive antibiotic treatment1,2,3. This suggests that P. aeruginosa might exist as biofilms—structured communities of bacteria encased in a self-produced polymeric matrix—in the cystic fibrosis lung1,4. Consistent with this hypothesis, microscopy of cystic fibrosis sputum shows that P. aeruginosa are in biofilm-like structures. P. aeruginosa uses extracellular quorum-sensing signals (extracellular chemical signals that cue cell-density-dependent gene expression) to coordinate biofilm formation5. Here we found that cystic fibrosis sputum produces the two principal P. aeruginosa quorum-sensing signals; however, the relative abundance of these signals was opposite to that of the standard P. aeruginosa strain PAO1 in laboratory broth culture. When P. aeruginosa sputum isolates were grown in broth, some showed quorum-sensing signal ratios like those of the laboratory strain. When we grew these isolates and PAO1 in a laboratory biofilm model, the signal ratios were like those in cystic fibrosis sputum. Our data support the hypothesis that P. aeruginosa are in a biofilm in cystic fibrosis sputum. Moreover, quorum-sensing signal profiling of specific P. aeruginosa strains may serve as a biomarker in screens to identify agents that interfere with biofilm development.

Date: 2000
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/35037627 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:407:y:2000:i:6805:d:10.1038_35037627

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/35037627

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().