ArticleNature communications2021
Biofilm formation in the lung contributes to virulence and drug tolerance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 130 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.
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Who cites it
130 citing papers in PubMed, 219 citations in OpenAlex.
- From Planktonic to Sedentary Lifestyle: Molecular Dissection of the Establishment and Maintenance of Mycobacterial Biofilm.ACS omega · 2026Article
- Host-pathogen interactions in tuberculosis: from immunological mechanisms to translational applications.Cell insight · 2026Review
- Inhaled formulations for bacterial pneumonia: Strategies and advances in drug delivery.Bioactive materials · 2026Review
- Mycobacterial surface-mediated mechanical priming initiates spacious to compact phagosome switching for egress.iScience · 2026Article
- Binding specificity of IgG antibodies to mycobacterial DNA in plasmas of patients with tuberculosis and healthy controls.ImmunoHorizons · 2026Article
- Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Antimicrobial Resistance in Mycobacteria.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Activation of the antibiotic resistance factor WhiB7 can stimulate aggregate biofilm formation in stationary phaseJournal of bacteriology · 2026Article
- Charge-Competition AIEgens Induce Mitochondrial Dysfunction for Selective Eradication ofJournal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Pyruvate carboxylase is critical for biofilm formation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Article
- A functional amyloid matrix underpins the PDIM-architected corded superstructure of thebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
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- Investigating the Antimycobacterial, Antibiofilm, and Antioxidant Activities of Plant Extracts AgainstMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- Review
- Cell wall remodeling-dependent morphotype switch inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Biofilm Associated Persistence and Drug Tolerance in Mycobacteria Within Host Microenvironments.APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica · 2026Review
- Article
- Towards enhanced translational value: preclinical drug activity testing against actively multiplying, nutrient-starved and pellicle biofilm-embedded Mycobacterium abscessus.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2026Article
- Comparative genomics of crucian carp-isolatedFrontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Inhaled Targeted Nano-Drug Delivery Systems for COPD: Precision Solutions to Clinical Barriers.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Review
- Relating corynebacterial cell envelope layers to its biochemical and physical properties.Cell surface (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2025Article
70 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
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Tuberculosis is a chronic disease that displays several features commonly associated with biofilm-associated infections: immune system evasion, antibiotic treatment failures, and recurrence of infection. However, although Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) can form cellulose-containing biofilms in vitro, it remains unclear whether biofilms are formed during infection in vivo. Here, we demonstrate the formation of Mtb biofilms in animal models of infection and in patients, and that biofilm formation can contribute to drug tolerance. First, we show that cellulose is also a structural component of the extracellular matrix of in vitro biofilms of fast and slow-growing nontuberculous mycobacteria. Then, we use cellulose as a biomarker to detect Mtb biofilms in the lungs of experimentally infected mice and non-human primates, as well as in lung tissue sections obtained from patients with tuberculosis. Mtb strains defective in biofilm formation are attenuated for survival in mice, suggesting that biofilms protect bacilli from the host immune system. Furthermore, the administration of nebulized cellulase enhances the antimycobacterial activity of isoniazid and rifampicin in infected mice, supporting a role for biofilms in phenotypic drug tolerance. Our findings thus indicate that Mtb biofilms are relevant to human tuberculosis.
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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.