title: Highly adherent small-colony variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis lung infection.
abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic human pathogen and ubiquitous environmental bacterium, is capable of forming specialized bacterial communities, referred to as biofilm. The results of this study demonstrate that the unique environment of the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung seems to select for a subgroup of autoaggregative and hyperpiliated P. aeruginosa small-colony variants (SCVs). These morphotypes showed increased fitness under stationary growth conditions in comparison with clonal wild-types and fast-growing revertants isolated from the SCV population in vitro. In accordance with the SCVs being hyperpiliated, they exhibited increased twitching motility and capacity for biofilm formation. In addition, the SCVs attached strongly to the pneumocytic cell line A549. The emergence of these highly adherent SCVs within the CF lung might play a key role in the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa lung infection, where a biofilm mode of growth is thought to be responsible for persistent infection.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology1 and Department of Pediatric Pneumology3, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany 2German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Häußler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology1 and Department of Pediatric Pneumology3, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany 2German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Isabell
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ziegler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology1 and Department of Pediatric Pneumology3, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany 2German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Löttel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology1 and Department of Pediatric Pneumology3, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany 2German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Franz V
authors.initials: FV
authors.lastname: Götz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology1 and Department of Pediatric Pneumology3, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany 2German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rohde
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology1 and Department of Pediatric Pneumology3, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany 2German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wehmhöhner
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology1 and Department of Pediatric Pneumology3, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany 2German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Selvan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saravanamuthu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology1 and Department of Pediatric Pneumology3, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany 2German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Burkhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tümmler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology1 and Department of Pediatric Pneumology3, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany 2German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Mascheroder Weg 1, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Ivo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Steinmetz
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D002460:Cell Line; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008168:Lung / Q000166:cytology / Q000382:microbiology; D009068:Movement; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000502:physiology*