Colonization and immune modulation properties of biofilm-dispersed cells.

Biofilm-dispersal is a key determinant for further dissemination of biofilm-embedded bacteria. Recent evidence indicates that biofilm-dispersed bacteria have transcriptional features different from those of both biofilm and planktonic bacteria. In this study, the in vitro and in vivo phenotypic properties of cells spontaneously dispersed from biofilm were compared with those of planktonic and sessile cells. Biofilm-dispersed cells, whose growth rate was the same as that of exponential planktonic bacteria but significantly higher than those of sessile and stationary planktonic forms, colonized both abiotic and biotic surfaces more efficiently than their planktonic counterparts regardless of their initial adhesion capabilities. Microscopy studies suggested that dispersed bacteria initiate formation of microcolonies more rapidly than planktonic bacteria. In addition, dispersed cells have both a higher engulfment rate and better survival/multiplication inside macrophages than planktonic cells and sessile cells. In an in vivo murine pneumonia model, the bacterial load in mice lungs infected with biofilm-dispersed bacteria was similar at 6, 24 and 48 h after infection to that of mice lungs infected with planktonic or sessile bacteria. However, biofilm-dispersed and sessile bacteria trend to elicit innate immune response in lungs to a lesser extent than planktonic bacteria. Collectively, the findings from this study suggest that the greater ability of biofilm-dispersed cells to efficiently achieve surface colonization and to subvert the host immune response confers them substantial advantages in the first steps of the infection process over planktonic bacteria.