ArticlePloS one2011
Streptococcus pneumoniae in biofilms are unable to cause invasive disease due to altered virulence determinant production.
Article in PloS one, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 111 citations in OpenAlex.
- Influenza A virus infection induces initial proliferation of commensalJournal of virology · 2026Article
- Biofilm formation during pneumococcal carriage imprints naturally acquired humoral immunity.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Article
- Streptococcus pneumoniae adaptation to nutrient deprivation and immune modulation drives upper respiratory tract colonization.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Biofilm formation during pneumococcal carriage imprints naturally acquired humoral immunity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- The rise of serotype 8 is associated with lineages and mutations in the capsular operon with different potential to produce invasive pneumococcal disease.Emerging microbes & infections · 2025Article
- Label-free microscopy enables high-throughput identification of genes controlling biofilm development.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Viridans Streptococcal Biofilm Evades Immune Detection and Contributes to Inflammation and Rupture of Atherosclerotic Plaques.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025Article
- Purification of Type IV and Type VI Lipoteichoic Acids from Gram-Positive Mucosal Pathogens via a Two-Step Hot Water-Phenol/Triethylammonium Acetate Extraction Method.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2025Article
- Role of the polyamine transporter PotABCD during biofilm formation by Streptococcus pneumoniae.PloS one · 2024Article
- Carbon source-dependent capsule thickness regulation inFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- The Streptococcus pyogenes hyaluronic acid capsule promotes experimental nasal and skin infection by preventing neutrophil-mediated clearance.PLoS pathogens · 2022Article
- CRISPR Contributes to Adhesion, Invasion, and Biofilm Formation in Streptococcus agalactiae by Repressing Capsular Polysaccharide Production.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Genotypic Characterization and Biofilm Production of Group B Streptococcus Strains Isolated from Bone and Joint Infections.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Molecular and Structural Parallels between Gluten Pathogenic Peptides and Bacterial-Derived Proteins by Bioinformatics Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Antibacterial Polysiloxane Polymers and Coatings for Cochlear Implants.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Hemoglobin Induces Early and Robust Biofilm Development inInfection and immunity · 2021Article
- Effect of antimicrobial peptides on planktonic growth, biofilm formation and biofilm-derived bacterial viability ofSouthern African journal of infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Mechanisms Underlying Pneumococcal Transmission and Factors Influencing Host-Pneumococcus Interaction: A Review.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021Review
- Deciphering Streptococcal Biofilms.Microorganisms · 2020Review
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
It is unclear whether Streptococcus pneumoniae in biofilms are virulent and contribute to development of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Using electron microscopy we confirmed the development of mature pneumococcal biofilms in a continuous-flow-through line model and determined that biofilm formation occurred in discrete stages with mature biofilms composed primarily of dead pneumococci. Challenge of mice with equal colony forming units of biofilm and planktonic pneumococci determined that biofilm bacteria were highly attenuated for invasive disease but not nasopharyngeal colonization. Biofilm pneumococci of numerous serotypes were hyper-adhesive and bound to A549 type II pneumocytes and Detroit 562 pharyngeal epithelial cells at levels 2 to 11-fold greater than planktonic counterparts. Using genomic microarrays we examined the pneumococcal transcriptome and determined that during biofilm formation S. pneumoniae down-regulated genes involved in protein synthesis, energy production, metabolism, capsular polysaccharide (CPS) production, and virulence. We confirmed these changes by measuring CPS by ELISA and immunoblotting for the toxin pneumolysin and the bacterial adhesins phosphorylcholine (ChoP), choline-binding protein A (CbpA), and Pneumococcal serine-rich repeat protein (PsrP). We conclude that biofilm pneumococci were avirulent due to reduced CPS and pneumolysin production along with increased ChoP, which is known to bind C-reactive protein and is opsonizing. Likewise, biofilm pneumococci were hyper-adhesive due to selection for the transparent phase variant, reduced CPS, and enhanced production of PsrP, CbpA, and ChoP. These studies suggest that biofilms do not directly contribute to development of IPD and may instead confer a quiescent mode of growth during colonization.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.