Significance of in-vivo biofilm in non-tuberculous mycobacterial diseases

There’s been a rise of pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) disease in developed countries. Treatment for this is limited and existing treatments have an extensive duration. The disease has a long latent period and often experiences recurrence after treatment. In their work, Senior Research Scientist Dr Kentaro Yamamoto and his team based at the Leprosy Research Centre within the Department of Mycobacteriology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) are building on the recent discovery that NTMs form biofilms in infected tissues. There is potential that biofilms formed in infected tissues could shield the bacilli from drug exposure, protect them against the host’s immune system attacks, or offer a refuge for the bacilli within the human body. Therefore the researchers believe that the removal of biofilms formed by NTMs or M. tuberculosis in the body could represent a novel treatment approach. By developing a device that can easily detect mycobacterial biofilms within the body, it would be possible to non-invasively assess a patient’s condition, including the stage of infection. Much remains to be discovered about the structure and function of mycobacterial biofilms in vivo and so the researchers want to clarify the relationship between biofilm formation in the lungs and key factors such as pathogenicity, bacterial growth, drug resistance, host immune response and the phenomena of latency and recurrence. If the team can make these clarifications, the research will benefit patients who are allergic to antimicrobials and those whose quality of life is reduced by the long-term treatment of NTM disease.