Host environmental signals and effects on biofilm formation

Abstract

Biofilm matrix formation is a phenotype linked to the ability to survive a hostile host environment that includes the presence of antimicrobial peptides and serum factors. Multiple hormones and other host derived factors have been shown to function as exogenous quorum signaling compound homologs that inform microbes of their in situ presence, thus triggering a shift from a planktonic to the sessile biofilm phenotype. The focus of this review is to describe the impact various host-derived factors have on the initial steps required for biofilm formation, i.e., adherence to host surfaces and multiplication in the host.

Keywords: Biofilm; Candida albicans; Catecholamine; Catheter-associated infections; Dehydroepiandosterone (DHEA); Escherichia coli; Estrogen; Insulin; Progesterone; Quorum compounds; Staphylococcus aureus; Vitamin K.