Bacterial vaginosis biofilms: challenges to current therapies and emerging solutions

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common genital tract infection in women during their reproductive years and it has been associated with serious health complications, such as preterm delivery and acquisition or transmission of several sexually transmitted agents. BV is characterized by a reduction of beneficial lactobacilli and a significant increase in number of anaerobic bacteria, including Gardnerella vaginalis, Atopobium vaginae, Mobiluncus spp., Bacteroides spp. and Prevotella spp.. Being polymicrobial in nature, BV etiology remains unclear. However, it is certain that BV involves the presence of a thick vaginal multi-species biofilm, where G. vaginalis is the predominant species. Similar to what happens in many other biofilm-related infections, standard antibiotics, like metronidazole, are unable to fully eradicate the vaginal biofilm, which can explain the high recurrence rates of BV. Furthermore, antibiotic therapy can also cause a negative impact on the healthy vaginal microflora. These issues sparked the interest in developing alternative therapeutic strategies. This review provides a quick synopsis of the currently approved and available antibiotics for BV treatment while presenting an overview of novel strategies that are being explored for the treatment of this disorder, with special focus on natural compounds that are able to overcome biofilm-associated antibiotic resistance.

Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis are able to incorporate and enhance a pre-formed Gardnerella vaginalis biofilm

Gardnerella vaginalis is the most frequent microorganism found in bacterial vaginosis (BV), while Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis are amongst the most frequent pathogens found in urinary tract infections (UTIs). This study aimed to evaluate possible interactions between UTIs pathogens and G. vaginalis using an in vitro dual-species biofilm model. Our results showed that dual-species biofilms reached significantly higher bacterial concentration than mono-species biofilms. Moreover, visualization of dual-populations species in the biofilms, using the epifluorescence microscopy, revealed that all of the urogenital pathogens co-existed with G. vaginalis. In conclusion, our work demonstrates that uropathogens can incorporate into mature BV biofilms.

Zeolite-based nanomaterials for the control of opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms

Dissertação de mestrado em Applied Biochemistry (área de especialização em Biomedicine)

MMP-9/RECK imbalance: a mechanism associated with high-grade cervical lesions and genital infection by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Chlamydia trachomatis

"Manuscript"