title: The relationship between biofilm and outer membrane vesicles: a novel therapy overview.
abstract: Microorganisms have the ability of inhabiting nearly every environment through their sophisticated mechanisms of survival such as biofilm formation and release of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). The biofilm matrix offers microorganism protection and contributes significantly to several clinical challenges, including symptomatic inflammation, antibiotic resistance, recurrence and the spread of infectious emboli. Moreover, bacteria also have another protective mechanism of vesicle production which is used as a means of disseminating toxins to harm their host. A clear understanding of gene expression switch of bacterium from planktonic to biofilm mode offers clinical potentials in treating bacterial infections. In this respect, the treatment of bacterial infections may be achieved through (1) application of RNA interference technology to silence the expression of proteins involved in the process of biofilm formation, (2) utilization of vesicles in delivering antibiotics and (3) use of natural occurred compounds. In this review, we discuss the relationship between biofilm formation and OMV production with respect to tackling biofilm-related clinical challenges. Some prospective considerations in biofilm-associated infections treatment are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Dalian Medical University, 9 Western Section, Lvshun South Road, Lvshunkou District, Dalian 116044, China.
authors.forename: Wendong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Dalian Medical University, 9 Western Section, Lvshun South Road, Lvshunkou District, Dalian 116044, China.
authors.forename: Warren
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chanda
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Dalian Medical University, 9 Western Section, Lvshun South Road, Lvshunkou District, Dalian 116044, China dyzhongmt@163.com.
authors.forename: Mintao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhong
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D056226:Bacterial Structures / Q000502:physiology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development; D021961:Cell Membrane Structures / Q000502:physiology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins
keywords: RNA interference (RNAi); antibiotic resistance; biofilm; natural products; outer membrane vesicle (OMV)