Johnston, William and Ware, Alicia and Kuiters, Willemijn Frederique and Delaney, Christopher and Brown, Jason Lee and Hagen, Suzanne and Corcoran, David and Cummings, Matthew and Ramage, Gordon and Kean, Ryan (2023) In vitro bacterial vaginosis biofilm community manipulation using endolysin therapy. Biofilm, 5: 100101. ISSN 2590-2075
AI Summary:
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) affects approximately 26% of women of childbearing age globally. The study highlights the resilience of biofilm-embedded pathogens against currently used antibiotics and provides a polymicrobial model for pre-clinical screening of BV therapies.AI Topics:
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) affects approximately 26% of women of childbearing age globally, presenting with 3–5 times increased risk of miscarriage and two-fold risk of pre-term birth. Antibiotics (metronidazole and clindamycin) are typically employed to treat BV; however the success rate is low due to the formation of recalcitrant polymicrobial biofilms. As a novel therapeutic, promising results have been obtained in vitro using Gardnerella endolysins, although to date their efficacy has only been demonstrated against simple biofilm models.
In this study, a four-species biofilm was developed consisting of Gardnerella vaginalis, Fannyhessea vaginae, Prevotella bivia and Mobiluncus curtisii. Biofilms were grown in NYC III broth and treated using antibiotics and an anti-Gardnerella endolysin (CCB7.1) for 24 h. Biofilm composition, viability and structure were assessed using colony counts, live/dead qPCR and scanning electron microscopy.
All species colonised biofilms to varying degrees, with G. vaginalis being the most abundant. Biofilm composition remained largely unchanged when challenged with escalated concentrations of conventional antibiotics. A Gardnerella-targeted endolysin candidate (CCB7.1) showed efficacy against several Gardnerella species planktonically, and significantly reduced viable G. vaginalis within polymicrobial biofilms at 1 to 4X pMIC (p < 0.05 vs. vehicle control).
Collectively, this study highlights the resilience of biofilm-embedded pathogens against the currently used antibiotics and provides a polymicrobial model that allows for more effective pre-clinical screening of BV therapies. The Gardnerella-specific endolysin CCB7.1 demonstrated significant activity against G. vaginalis within polymicrobial biofilms, altering the overall community dynamic and composition.
Johnston, William
Author
Ware, Alicia and Johnston, William and Delaney, Christopher and Butcher, Mark C. and Ramage, Gordon and Price, Lesley and Butcher, John and Kean, Ryan (2025) Dry surface biofilm formation by Candida auris facilitates persistence and tolerance to sodium hypochlorite. APMIS: Journal of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, 133 (4): e70022. ISSN 0903-4641
Simpson, Annabel and Johnston, William and Carda-Diéguez, Miguel and Mira, Alex and Easton, Chris and Henriquez, Fiona L. and Culshaw, Shauna and Rosier, Bob T. and Burleigh, Mia (2024) Periodontal treatment causes a longitudinal increase in nitrite-producing bacteria. Molecular Oral Microbiology, 39 (6). pp. 491-506. ISSN 2041-1006
Johnston, William and Ware, Alicia and Kuiters, Willemijn Frederique and Delaney, Christopher and Brown, Jason Lee and Hagen, Suzanne and Corcoran, David and Cummings, Matthew and Ramage, Gordon and Kean, Ryan (2023) In vitro bacterial vaginosis biofilm community manipulation using endolysin therapy. Biofilm, 5: 100101. ISSN 2590-2075
See full publications listWare, Alicia
Author
Ware, Alicia and Johnston, William and Delaney, Christopher and Butcher, Mark C. and Ramage, Gordon and Price, Lesley and Butcher, John and Kean, Ryan (2025) Dry surface biofilm formation by Candida auris facilitates persistence and tolerance to sodium hypochlorite. APMIS: Journal of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, 133 (4): e70022. ISSN 0903-4641
Johnston, William and Ware, Alicia and Kuiters, Willemijn Frederique and Delaney, Christopher and Brown, Jason Lee and Hagen, Suzanne and Corcoran, David and Cummings, Matthew and Ramage, Gordon and Kean, Ryan (2023) In vitro bacterial vaginosis biofilm community manipulation using endolysin therapy. Biofilm, 5: 100101. ISSN 2590-2075
See full publications listKuiters, Willemijn Frederique
Author
Johnston, William and Ware, Alicia and Kuiters, Willemijn Frederique and Delaney, Christopher and Brown, Jason Lee and Hagen, Suzanne and Corcoran, David and Cummings, Matthew and Ramage, Gordon and Kean, Ryan (2023) In vitro bacterial vaginosis biofilm community manipulation using endolysin therapy. Biofilm, 5: 100101. ISSN 2590-2075
See full publications listDelaney, Christopher
Author
Ware, Alicia and Johnston, William and Delaney, Christopher and Butcher, Mark C. and Ramage, Gordon and Price, Lesley and Butcher, John and Kean, Ryan (2025) Dry surface biofilm formation by Candida auris facilitates persistence and tolerance to sodium hypochlorite. APMIS: Journal of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, 133 (4): e70022. ISSN 0903-4641
Alshehri, Muhanna and Alqahtani, Saeed and Murali, Pranitha and Delaney, Christopher and Johnston, William and Brown, Jason L. (2025) Organotypic tissue model systems for investigating host-pathogen interactions in vitro. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 28 (217): e67487. ISSN 1940-087X
Delaney, Christopher and Short, Bryn and Rajendran, Ranjith and Kean, Ryan and Burgess, Karl and Williams, Craig and Munro, Carol A. and Ramage, Gordon (2023) An integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic approach to investigate the heterogeneous Candida albicans biofilm phenotype. Biofilm, 5: 100112. ISSN 2590-2075
See full publications listBrown, Jason Lee
Author
Allkja, Jontana and Bakri, Ahmed and Short, Bryn and Gilmour, Andrew and Brown, Jason L. and Bal, Abhijit M. and Newby, Kelly J.M. and Jenkins, Toby and Short, Rob D. and Williams, Craig and Ramage, Gordon (2025) Investigating the prevalence of fungi in diabetic ulcers: an under-recognised contributor to polymicrobial biofilms. APMIS: Journal of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, 133 (4): e70025. ISSN 0903-4641
Alshehri, Muhanna and Alqahtani, Saeed and Murali, Pranitha and Delaney, Christopher and Johnston, William and Brown, Jason L. (2025) Organotypic tissue model systems for investigating host-pathogen interactions in vitro. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 28 (217): e67487. ISSN 1940-087X
Baz, Abdullah and Bakri, Ahmed and Butcher, Mark and Short, Bryn and Ghimire, Bhagirath and Gaur, Nishtha and Jenkins, Toby and Short, Robert D. and Riggio, Marcello and Williams, Craig and Ramage, Gordon and Brown, Jason L. (2023) Staphylococcus aureus strains exhibit heterogenous tolerance to direct cold atmospheric plasma therapy. Biofilm, 5: 100123. ISSN 2590-2075
See full publications listHagen, Suzanne
Author
Johnston, William and Ware, Alicia and Kuiters, Willemijn Frederique and Delaney, Christopher and Brown, Jason Lee and Hagen, Suzanne and Corcoran, David and Cummings, Matthew and Ramage, Gordon and Kean, Ryan (2023) In vitro bacterial vaginosis biofilm community manipulation using endolysin therapy. Biofilm, 5: 100101. ISSN 2590-2075
See full publications listCorcoran, David
Author
Johnston, William and Ware, Alicia and Kuiters, Willemijn Frederique and Delaney, Christopher and Brown, Jason Lee and Hagen, Suzanne and Corcoran, David and Cummings, Matthew and Ramage, Gordon and Kean, Ryan (2023) In vitro bacterial vaginosis biofilm community manipulation using endolysin therapy. Biofilm, 5: 100101. ISSN 2590-2075
See full publications listCummings, Matthew
Author
Johnston, William and Ware, Alicia and Kuiters, Willemijn Frederique and Delaney, Christopher and Brown, Jason Lee and Hagen, Suzanne and Corcoran, David and Cummings, Matthew and Ramage, Gordon and Kean, Ryan (2023) In vitro bacterial vaginosis biofilm community manipulation using endolysin therapy. Biofilm, 5: 100101. ISSN 2590-2075
See full publications listRamage, Gordon
Author
Allkja, Jontana and Bakri, Ahmed and Short, Bryn and Gilmour, Andrew and Brown, Jason L. and Bal, Abhijit M. and Newby, Kelly J.M. and Jenkins, Toby and Short, Rob D. and Williams, Craig and Ramage, Gordon (2025) Investigating the prevalence of fungi in diabetic ulcers: an under-recognised contributor to polymicrobial biofilms. APMIS: Journal of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, 133 (4): e70025. ISSN 0903-4641
Ware, Alicia and Johnston, William and Delaney, Christopher and Butcher, Mark C. and Ramage, Gordon and Price, Lesley and Butcher, John and Kean, Ryan (2025) Dry surface biofilm formation by Candida auris facilitates persistence and tolerance to sodium hypochlorite. APMIS: Journal of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, 133 (4): e70022. ISSN 0903-4641
Abduljalil, Hafsa and Alshanta, Om Alkhir and Chougule, Safa and Butcher, Mark and Short, Bryn and Mclean, William and Parry, Neil and O'Keeffe, Joanne and Ramage, Gordon (2025) Lactams exhibit potent antifungal activity against monospecies and multispecies interkingdom biofilms on a novel hydrogel skin model. APMIS: Journal of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, 133 (1): e13510. ISSN 0903-4641
See full publications listKean, Ryan
Author
Delaney, Christopher and Short, Bryn and Rajendran, Ranjith and Kean, Ryan and Burgess, Karl and Williams, Craig and Munro, Carol A. and Ramage, Gordon (2023) An integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic approach to investigate the heterogeneous Candida albicans biofilm phenotype. Biofilm, 5: 100112. ISSN 2590-2075
Johnston, William and Ware, Alicia and Kuiters, Willemijn Frederique and Delaney, Christopher and Brown, Jason Lee and Hagen, Suzanne and Corcoran, David and Cummings, Matthew and Ramage, Gordon and Kean, Ryan (2023) In vitro bacterial vaginosis biofilm community manipulation using endolysin therapy. Biofilm, 5: 100101. ISSN 2590-2075
See full publications listAvailable under License Creative Commons Attribution.
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