PNNL

Abstract

Implanted medical devices (e.g., prosthetic heart valves, permanent pacemakers) significantly improve the quality of life for many humans. However, a common clinical observation is that such devices become colonized with potentially life-threatening Staphylococcus aureus biofilms, which are difficult to combat with host defenses or antibiotics. This study attempts to draw a correlation between the clinical outcome of patients with implanted cardiac devices and the fundamental binding forces ultimately responsible for the initiation of an S. aureus biofilm in-situ. Atomic force microscopy was used to measure forces between a fibronectin-coated probe (simulating a prosthetic implant) and 15 different strains of S. aureus isolated from either patients with infected cardiac devices (invasive population) or healthy human subjects (control population). The fibronectin-coated probe was repeatedly brought into and out of contact with a bacterium’s surface, “fishing” for a reaction with the cell’s fibronectin-binding proteins. More than 40,000 force profiles were measured on 5-10 different cells for each of the 15 clinical strains. A unique force-signature was observed for a binding event between the fibronectin-coated probe and the bacteria. When grouped by the frequency of this force-signature, there was a strong distinction (p=0.01) between the invasive and control populations of S. aureus. This discovery suggests that biofilm forming bacteria may be classified according to their “force taxonomy”, which could have a positive effect on health care as it bridges the long-standing disconnect between macroscopic, clinical investigations and nanometer-scale forces ultimately responsible for a bond between S. aureus and the surface of a prosthetic device.