Assessment of antimicrobial susceptibility of Enterococcus faecalis isolated from chronic periodontitis in biofilm versus planktonic phase.
BACKGROUND
Enterococci are often associated with chronic and recurrent infectious diseases because of their antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study is to assess antimicrobial susceptibility of Enterococcus faecalis in chronic periodontitis.


METHODS
Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined on 23 E. faecalis strains isolated from patients with chronic periodontitis. Ampicillin, erythromycin, gentamicin, tetracycline, triclosan, and vancomycin were prepared in two-fold serial dilution up to 8,192 μg/mL. Enterococcal biofilm was established by a biofilm device and observed by confocal laser microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration, and minimum biofilm eradication concentration were determined by spectrophotometer at optical density(650).


RESULTS
A few patches of monolayer early biofilm were observed on the surfaces of biofilm device pegs. The colony-forming units of biofilm per peg were 1.2 × 10(3) to 1.7 × 10(4) and 0 to 20 post-triclosan treatment. The MIC(50) was higher than the MIC epidemiologic cut-off for tetracycline and the MIC(90) was higher than the cut-off for erythromycin and tetracycline, respectively. In biofilm, minimum biofilm eradication concentrations were extremely high for all of the drugs except triclosan.


CONCLUSIONS
The E. faecalis strains of chronic periodontitis exhibited weak biofilm formation ability at the early stage. Over 50% of the strains were resistant to tetracycline, and a few strains were highly resistant to erythromycin or gentamicin. E. faecalis cells in biofilm were hardly eradicated by most of the agents, even in high concentrations. Triclosan was effective in inhibiting E. faecalis growth in both biofilm and planktonic phase.
Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway.
Jinglu
J
Sun
Xiaobo
X
Song
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000145:classification / Q000494:pharmacology; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents