Mycobacterium abscessus Cells Have Altered Antibiotic Tolerance and Surface Glycolipids in Artificial Cystic Fibrosis Sputum Medium.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium abscessus is a biofilm-forming, multidrug-resistant nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) pathogen increasingly found in cystic fibrosis patients. Antibiotic treatment for these infections is often unsuccessful, partly due to M. abscessus's high intrinsic antibiotic resistance. It is not clear whether antibiotic tolerance caused by biofilm formation also contributes to poor treatment outcomes. We studied the surface glycolipids and antibiotic tolerance of M. abscessus biofilms grown in artificial cystic fibrosis sputum (ACFS) medium to determine how they are affected by nutrient conditions that mimic infection. We found that M. abscessus displays more of the virulence lipid trehalose dimycolate when grown in ACFS than when grown in standard lab medium. In ACFS medium, biofilm-as

SUBMITTER: Hunt-Serracin AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6591588 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature