Effect of malate on the activity of ciprofloxacin against in different and -like infection models.

The clinical significance of infections and the tolerance of this opportunistic pathogen to antibiotic therapy makes the development of novel antimicrobial strategies an urgent need. We previously found that D,L-malic acid potentiates the activity of ciprofloxacin against biofilms grown in a synthetic cystic fibrosis sputum medium by increasing metabolic activity and tricarboxylic acid cycle activity. This suggested a potential new strategy to improve antibiotic therapy in infections.

Commensal bacteria of the lung microbiota synergistically inhibit inflammation in a three-dimensional epithelial cell model.

Patients with chronic lung disease suffer from persistent inflammation and are typically colonized by pro-inflammatory pathogenic bacteria. Besides these pathogens, a wide variety of commensal species is present in the lower airways but their role in inflammation is unclear. Here, we show that the lung microbiota contains several species able to inhibit activation of the pro-inflammatory NF-κB pathway and production of interleukin 8 (IL-8), triggered by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or HO, in a physiologically relevant three-dimensional (3D) lung epithelial cell model.

Direct lysis of 3D cell cultures for RT-qPCR gene expression quantification.

In vitro cell culture experiments are widely used to study cellular behavior in most biological research fields. Except for suspension cells, most human cell types are cultured as adherent monolayers on a plastic surface. While technically convenient, monolayer cultures can suffer from limitations in terms of physiological relevance, as their resemblance to complex in vivo tissue structures is limited.