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Lack of correlation between in vitro and within patient measures of P. aeruginosa biofilms in cystic fibrosis

Summary

Researchers compared how Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria form biofilms (protective clusters) in lung samples from cystic fibrosis patients versus in laboratory culture dishes. They found that the bacteria behave quite differently in the lab compared to in patients’ lungs, suggesting that laboratory tests may not accurately predict how well antibiotics will work in real patients. This highlights the importance of studying bacteria directly from patient samples to better understand how infections actually develop and progress.

Background

Current in vitro biofilm models of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients have limited ability to replicate the complexities of the CF lung environment. Recent adaptations of the MiPACT technique allow direct imaging of PA biofilm spatial organization in expectorated sputum, enabling comparison with traditional in vitro models.

Objective

To perform comparative analysis of in vitro and ex vivo measures of P. aeruginosa biofilms using sputum from newly infected children with CF, examining correlation in biovolume, aggregation, and Psl exopolysaccharide expression between the two approaches.

Results

PA biovolume and aggregation in CF sputum showed no significant correlation with in vitro models in LB alone, though addition of sputum supernatant showed a trend toward significance for biovolume (p=0.051, r=0.6). Psl antibody binding correlated significantly between models (p=0.01, r=0.73) but not when normalized per biovolume. Surface-to-biovolume ratios showed no significant correlation in either condition.

Conclusion

In vitro models show poor correlation with ex vivo PA biofilm characteristics in CF sputum, suggesting translating in-patient observations to guide in vitro model design may produce more clinically relevant research than vice versa. MiPACT methodology provides valuable foundation for infection-relevant model development.
  • Published in:Heliyon,
  • Study Type:Comparative Study,
  • Source: PMID: 38933957, DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32424
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