We used flow cytometry to compare the phagocytic activity of monocytes against Staphylococcus aureus strains (both biofilm and planktonic cells) isolated from denture wearers and non-wearers. Staphylococcal strains were cultured in Brain Heart Infusion broth in both planktonic and biofilm form and were stained with a fluorescent reporter (propidium iodide) and incubated with monocytes. The fluorescence of the monocytes containing phagocytized bacteria was determined by flow cytometry and normalized to that of the bacterial strains used in the experiment. Staphylococcal strains from denture wearers caused greater activation of monocytes but were less prone to phagocytosis. The percentage of monocytes containing bacterial cells after exposition to staphylococcal strains varied from 2.7% to 81.4% for planktonic cells. For biofilm-released cells, this value ranged from 0.6% to 36.2%. The effectiveness of phagocytosis, estimated based on an increase in monocyte fluorescence, amounted to 32.4 and 71 FL2 units for the biofilm and planktonic cells, respectively. The lesser efficiency of phagocytosis against biofilm S. aureus in denture wearers suggests that they might have been colonized with the strains which were less prone to eradication than those from non-wearers.
Keywords: Dental prosthesis; Staphylococcus aureus; monocytes; phagocytosis; stomatitis.