Fluid Flow Induces Biofilm Formation in Staphylococcus epidermidis Polysaccharide Intracellular Adhesin-Positive Clinical Isolates
- aDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- bCalifornia NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- cDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology and Developmental Biology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- dDepartment of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (MIMG), David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
ABSTRACT
Staphylococcus epidermidis is a common cause of catheter-related bloodstream infections, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality and increased hospital costs. The ability to form biofilms plays a crucial role in pathogenesis; however, not all clinical isolates form biofilms under normal in vitro conditions. Strains containing the ica operon can display significant phenotypic variation with respect to polysaccharide intracellular adhesin (PIA)-based biofilm formation, including the induction of biofilms upon environmental stress. Using a parallel microfluidic approach to investigate flow as an environmental signal for S. epidermidis biofilm formation, we demonstrate that fluid shear alone induces PIA-positive biofilms of certain clinical isolates and influences biofilm structure. These findings suggest an important role of the catheter microenvironment, particularly fluid flow, in the establishment of S. epidermidis infections by PIA-dependent biofilm formation.
FOOTNOTES
- Received 10 April 2012.
- Accepted 7 June 2012.
- Address correspondence to Vladana Milisavljevic, vmilisavljevic{at}mednet.ucla.edu.
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Published ahead of print 15 June 2012
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Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.
- Copyright © 2012, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
