What Is Biofilm?
The following article has in-depth information about biofilm
Dental plaque is a type of biofilm that forms on the teeth and gums.
Biofilms are frequently associated with chronic infections because they are difficult to eradicate with antimicrobial treatments and can evade the host’s immune system.
When formed, biofilms can trigger chronic inflammatory responses in the host, leading to tissue damage and impaired healing.
What Are Biofilms and Why You Need to Know About Them
by Dr. Becky Campbell
Have you ever felt like your chronic symptoms just won’t let up, no matter how many changes you make or treatments you try?
Whether it’s relentless gut issues, sinus problems that won’t budge, or the frustrating brain fog that follows you everywhere, it can feel like you’re fighting an invisible enemy.
Here’s a little secret that might just change the way you approach your health: biofilms.
These microscopic, slimy structures are the ultimate secret weapon for bacteria, fungi, and other microbes. (1) They’re like a forcefield, shielding pathogens from your immune system and making them resistant to treatments.
But biofilms aren’t just fascinating little ecosystems – they’re also a major player in chronic illnesses like Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), histamine intolerance, and mold illness.
If you’ve been feeling stuck, this hidden layer of microbial defense might be the missing piece of the puzzle.
In this blog, we’re peeling back the layers (literally and figuratively) to explore what biofilms are, why they matter, and how you can break through them to reclaim your health. By the end, you’ll understand these microscopic troublemakers and have actionable steps to start tackling them.
Let’s dive in – biofilms have been hiding long enough.
What Are Biofilms?
Let’s start with a mental picture. Imagine you’ve left a glass of water in the sink for a few days. When you finally get around to cleaning it, you notice a slick, slimy film clinging to the inside. That’s a biofilm – only instead of dirty dishes, these slimy fortresses form inside your body, creating a protective hideout for bacteria, fungi, and other microbes.
In simple terms, a biofilm is a tiny, self-sustaining microbial community. These microbes stick together and construct a shield-like matrix from sugars, proteins, and DNA – a sort of microbial superglue. (2) This matrix anchors them to surfaces in your body, such as your gut lining, sinuses, or skin, and work together to survive, defend themselves from your immune system, and even communicate with one another to adapt and grow. (3)
Here’s where things get tricky: Once microbes are in a biofilm, they become much harder to kill. That protective shield makes them up to 1,000 times more resistant to antibiotics and antimicrobials. Even your body’s natural defenses can struggle to break through. (4)
Why Do Biofilms Matter?
The resilience of biofilms has real consequences for your health. They’re not just microbial shields; they actively disrupt your body’s ability to heal and maintain balance.
By clinging to the gut lining, biofilms can compromise the intestinal barrier, leading to leaky gut and systemic inflammation. This barrier dysfunction can set off a cascade of problems, from poor nutrient absorption to impaired detoxification pathways. Toxins like histamines, mold byproducts, and heavy metals can become trapped, further taxing your system. (5, 6)
Biofilms also create a haven for harmful microbes to persist, even in the face of treatments.
They can sustain chronic infections, amplify inflammation, and weaken your immune system’s defenses. (7)
Left unchecked, they create an environment where chronic illness thrives, keeping you stuck in a frustrating cycle of symptoms.
Breaking down biofilms is more than a tactical strike against microbes; it’s a key step in freeing your body to detoxify, absorb nutrients, and heal effectively. Addressing these fortresses can be the turning point in your journey to better health.
Biofilms and Chronic Illness: How They Keep You Stuck
We’ve already touched on how biofilms can disrupt detoxification processes, gut health, and immune function, but the relationship between biofilms and chronic illness is deeper than interference. These resilient microbial fortresses are often at the root of persistent health issues that don’t seem to resolve with conventional treatments.
Here’s why: Biofilms are like a microbe’s version of an underground bunker. They protect harmful pathogens from your body’s defenses and resist treatments that might otherwise be effective. This protection allows infections to linger long past the typical recovery period, leading to persistent symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, and joint pain. Even when you take antibiotics or antifungals, the biofilm’s protective shield makes it hard for these treatments to reach the microbes inside.
But biofilms do more than harbor pathogens – they actively contribute to the chronic illness cycle.
In the case of mold illness, for example, biofilms can protect mold spores and mycotoxins from being cleared by the immune system, worsening symptoms like brain fog, inflammation, and respiratory issues.
They can also trap histamines, which play a significant role in symptoms of mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), causing flare-ups of symptoms like headaches, hives, and digestive distress.
This persistence in the face of treatment often leads to an unfortunate cycle. The longer the biofilm exists in your body, the more it perpetuates inflammation, immune dysfunction, and toxic overload.
This means the root cause of many chronic illnesses – whether related to mold, infections, or other conditions – can be biofilms.
They don’t just contribute to illness – they prolong it.
What’s even more challenging is that biofilms can create a sort of “feedback loop” with your immune system.
When biofilms persist, the immune system remains in a heightened state of alert, leading to chronic inflammation. Over time, this inflammation damages tissues and organs, making it harder for the body to heal and increasing susceptibility to further infections and illnesses.
The following information has excerpts from the longer article by authors Natalie C Bamford, Cait E. McPhee and Nicola R. Stanley-Wall; Link to the full article is at the end of these excerpts on Biofilms
Dental plaque is a type of biofilm that forms on the teeth and gums. It is a major cause of tooth decay and gum disease, which are two of the most common oral health problems worldwide. Dental plaque begins to form shortly after tooth surfaces are cleaned and is initially composed of a layer of salivary proteins and glycoproteins that adhere to the tooth surface. This layer provides an attachment site for bacteria, which begin to colonize and form a complex community of micro-organisms that adhere in a predictable order. Collectively, the micro-organisms in dental plaque can produce a variety of acids and enzymes that can damage the tooth enamel and contribute to the development of cavities. They can also trigger an inflammatory response in the gums, leading to gingivitis and periodontitis. The biogeography of the microbial communities on the tooth surface can have a significant impact on the outcome on the host.
Biofilms as a Source of Chronic Infections
Biofilms are frequently associated with chronic infections because they are difficult to eradicate with antimicrobial treatments and can evade the host’s immune system. In the case of chronic infections, such as those caused by P. aeruginosa , Staphylococcus aureus , and Escherichia coli , biofilms can form on the surface of indwelling medical devices, such as catheters, implants and prosthetics. These biofilms can act as a reservoir of bacteria that continuously release low levels of infectious agents, leading to persistent or recurring acute infections.
Biofilms can also contribute to chronic infections by promoting antibiotic tolerance among the residents. The extracellular matrix of the biofilm can provide a physical barrier that limits the diffusion of some antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents, making it difficult for them to reach the bacterial cells within the biofilm. Additionally, bacteria within the biofilm can adapt to the presence of antibiotics by activating genes whose products confer resistance to these drugs. At a more fundamental level, when residing within a biofilm microbes adopt a profile of gene regulation that is significantly different from that of their planktonic counterparts and one that triggers a multitude of adaptive responses that are associated with increased antimicrobial tolerance.
When formed, biofilms can trigger chronic inflammatory responses in the host, leading to tissue damage and impaired healing. The biofilm matrix can stimulate host immune cells to release inflammatory mediators, which can cause chronic inflammation and tissue damage.
Biofilms in the Rhizosphere
Microbes including bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi form biofilms around the roots of plants (called the rhizosphere) and create a mutualistic relationship. Biofilms in the soil can help to break down organic matter and release nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which are essential for plant growth. Biofilms can also improve soil structure and water retention, making it easier for plants to access water and nutrients. In return, the host plant provides the microbes with carbohydrates that they produce through photosynthesis.
A specialized example is rhizobial bacteria that form biofilms around the roots of leguminous plants, such as beans and peas, and trigger the development of root nodules. From within the nodules, the bacteria fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, making it available to the plant. Plant exudates (secreted molecules) can act as chemoattractants for bacteria such as B. subtilis , leading to active root colonization. Some plant exudates can induce biofilm formation by triggering chemoreceptors that start a signal cascade leading to biofilm matrix gene expression, demonstrating the complexity of the cross-kingdom relationship. Current research is looking into how to promote beneficial biofilm formation on crop plants to increase plant robustness and crop yield, and how to breed crops that have the maximum potential for attracting beneficial microbes.
Biofilms and Bioremediation
Biofilms are complex communities of microbes that are bound by an extracellular macromolecular matrix produced by the residents. Biofilms are the predominant form of microbial life in the natural environment and although they are the leading cause of chronic infections, they are equally deeply connected to our ability to bioremediate waste and toxic materials. Here we highlight the emergent properties of biofilm communities and explore notable biofilms before concluding by providing examples of their major impact on our health and both natural and built environments.
What is a Biofilm?
The first observation of biofilms has been retrospectively credited to Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch scientist in the 17th century, who used a simple homemade microscope to observe microbial communities in dental plaque and other environments. He noted that this material was composed of numerous micro-organisms and described them as ‘animalcules’.
The term ‘biofilm’ was introduced in the early 1970s by microbiologist J. William Costerton and colleagues, who were studying the bacterial communities that form on surfaces in aquatic environments. They found that these communities were not simply random aggregates of individual cells, but instead were highly organized structures with specialized adaptive functions, such as nutrient uptake, waste removal and protection from environmental stressors.
It is now accepted that the hallmark of a biofilm is the embedding of micro-organisms within a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances that is produced by the constituent cells and additionally accumulates material (e.g. metals, salts) from the surrounding environment. The biofilm matrix comprises polysaccharides, proteins (many of which can be fibrous or form other higher-order forms), extracellular DNA and RNA, lipids and other biomolecules that collectively form a protective and adhesive layer around the community (Fig. 1). The specific matrix materials vary greatly and depend on the resident microbes and environmental conditions. For instance, Pseudomonas aeruginosa can produce at least three unique biofilm exopolysaccharides, and matrix production in Bacillus subtilis varies both with the isolate being examined and environmental factors such as temperature.
Fig. 1.
Biofilms across the scales of life. The central schematic shows the arrangement of mixed species of microbes embedded within an extracellular matrix. The typical materials found in the matrix are highlighted in a side box and cover both those that are produced and those that accumulate. The top panel of images showcases biofilms in the natural and built environment, which cross many scales. The lower panel of images highlight the emergent properties that arise when individual cells are in proximity within the protected community.
Why do microbes form biofilms?
Biofilm
Microbial Primer: An introduction to biofilms – what they are, why they form and their impact on built and natural environments
Natalie C Bamford 1,†, Cait E MacPhee 2,*,†, Nicola R Stanley-Wall 1,†
- Author information
- Article notes
- Copyright and License information
PMCID: PMC7615007 EMSID: EMS182432 PMID: 37526065
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Do not open the vial. Place the vial on the outside of a glass or plastic container. Fill the container with water and allow to ‘charge’ overnight. Drink ¼ cup of the charged water in the morning and ¼ cup of the charged water in the evening as needed. This is not medical treatment but energetic balancing. Any and all features, articles, workshops, videos, and discussion of the benefits of Never Ending Plasma Energy water and products are intended for educational purposes only and in no way should be taken as medical advice.
We encourage you to make health care decisions based upon personal research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. It is your right to educate yourself, to seek helpful information and to make use of it for your own benefit for you and your family. You are the one responsible for your health in using Never Ending Plasma Energy water and products. The views of others and suggestions are not intended to be a substitute for conventional medical assistance. If you have any severe medical conditions you need to speak with the physician of your own choice. We are not medical doctors; we are plasma energy scientists. We do not claim to cure diseases but simply to help you make physical and mental changes in order to help change conditions in your body.
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