Mycobacterial Biofilm: Mechanisms, Clinical Problems, and Treatments

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 25; no. 14; p. 7771
• Main Authors: Liu, Xining, Hu, Junxing, Wang, Wenzhen, Yang, Hanyu, Tao, Erning, Ma, Yufang, Sha, Shanshan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 16-07-2024
• Subjects: ABC transporters; Acids; antibiofilm; Bacteria; biofilm; Biofilms; Cellulose; Drug resistance; Lectins; Medical research; mycobacterial biofilm; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Proteins; Tuberculosis; Virulence; drug resistance; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; mycobacterial biofilm; antibiofilm; biofilm
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25147771

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a threat to human health worldwide.
(Mtb) and other nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) can form biofilms, and in vitro and animal experiments have shown that biofilms cause serious drug resistance and mycobacterial persistence. Deeper investigations into the mechanisms of mycobacterial biofilm formation and, consequently, the exploration of appropriate antibiofilm treatments to improve the efficiency of current anti-TB drugs will be useful for curing TB. In this review, the genes and molecules that have been recently reported to be involved in mycobacterial biofilm development, such as ABC transporter, Pks1, PpiB, GroEL1, MprB, (p)ppGpp, poly(P), and c-di-GMP, are summarized. Biofilm-induced clinical problems, including biofilm-related infections and enhanced virulence, as well as their possible mechanisms, are also discussed in detail. Moreover, we also illustrate newly synthesized anti-TB agents that target mycobacterial biofilm, as well as some assistant methods with high efficiency in reducing biofilms in hosts, such as the use of nanoparticles.