Understanding the Role of Anaerobic Microbes in an In Vitro Skin Model
Abstract
Military personnel that have sustained extremity injuries can develop infectious complications and substantial morbidity. About 80 percent of bacterial infections and infection persistence are associated with microbial biofilms, as they significantly prevent the penetration of antimicrobial drugs and result in the development of resistance towards antibiotics. The microbial bioburden of chronic wounds, specifically the aerobic microbial population, has been extensively investigated, but the anaerobic component (approximately 38 percent of the microbial population) remains poorly studied. Chronic wounds have poor blood flow and are hypoxic in nature; delineating the role of anaerobic bacteria in chronic wound infection is of growing interest but is limited by the challenges posed in both in culturing and characterization. In this study, three commercially available anaerobes (namely Anaerococcus murdochii, Bacteroides vulgatus, and Fusobacterium necrophorum) were investigated for the first time for their ability to form biofilms, influence motility of skin cells, and adhere to the in vitro skin wound model (Human Epidermal Keratinocyte Cells (HEK)). It was observed that all three anaerobes may have different roles to play in a chronic wound infection as (a) they form biofilms of varying adherences, (b) they do not affect the motility of the cells in the given experimental conditions, and (c) all the three anaerobes were able to stimulate the formation of vesicular structures in the nucleus of HEK cells upon 15 min of incubation, suggesting that the anaerobes induce a response in the skin cells upon exposure. Therefore, this study further validates the important role of anaerobes in persistent chronic wound infections.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 25, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1125997
Entities
People
- Dhanya Haridas
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory