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| Title: | Novel insights in Pseudomonas aeruginosa metabolism and pathogenesis by low fluid-shear culturing |
| Author(s): | Crabbé, Aurélie Cornelis, Pierre Van Houdt, Rob |
| Keywords: | Pseudomonas aeruginosa microbiology low fluid-shear microgravity infectious disease cystic fibrosis biofilm quorum sensing gene expression |
| Issue Date: | 21-Dec-2009 |
| Publication type: | Thesis |
| Citation: | Crabbé A.- Novel insights in Pseudomonas aeruginosa metabolism and pathogenesis by low fluid-shear culturing.- Brussels, Belgium: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2009.- 252 p.- PhD thesis.- ISBN 978-90-5487-679-3 |
| Abstract: | Exposure of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to low fluid-shear is deemed important during its infection process, and in particular in the frame of chronic respiratory infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Analogously, bacteria encounter low fluid-shear forces in microgravity conditions, e.g., in low-Earth orbit, due to the absence of convection and sedimentation. Hence, elucidating the relation between low fluid-shear and bacterial virulence may lead to novel insights into the bacterial infection process and might allow improved risk assessment for infectious disease during spaceflight missions. The influence of low fluid-shear on the behavior of P. aeruginosa was assessed using the rotating wall vessel (RWV) technology. Firstly, this study demonstrated that low fluid-shear induces phenotypic and molecular traits in P. aeruginosa, which are characteristic for its virulence in the CF patient. Secondly, an advanced alveolar three-dimensional tissue-like model was developed, using the RWV. In a final phase, it was assessed whether increasing the fluid-shear levels in the lung mucus of CF patients could affect P. aeruginosa biofilms. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that low fluid-shear is sensed by P. aeruginosa as an environmental signal, and could be of importance for its survival in- and colonization of the host. |
| Persistent URL: | http://hdl.handle.net/10038/1307  |
| ISBN: | 978-90-5487-679-3 |
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