Understanding biofilm--phage interactions in cystic fibrosis patients using mathematical frameworks
When planktonic bacteria adhere together to a surface, they begin to form biofilms, communities of bacteria. Biofilm formation in a host can be extremely problematic if left untreated, especially since antibiotics can be ineffective in treating the bacteria. Certain lung diseases such as cystic fibr...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Computational and Mathematical Biophysics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/cmb-2024-0018 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832570428780969984 |
|---|---|
| author | Emerenini Blessing O. Hartung Doris Reyes Grimaldo Ricardo N. G. Canner Claire Williams Maya Agyingi Ephraim Osgood Robert |
| author_facet | Emerenini Blessing O. Hartung Doris Reyes Grimaldo Ricardo N. G. Canner Claire Williams Maya Agyingi Ephraim Osgood Robert |
| author_sort | Emerenini Blessing O. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | When planktonic bacteria adhere together to a surface, they begin to form biofilms, communities of bacteria. Biofilm formation in a host can be extremely problematic if left untreated, especially since antibiotics can be ineffective in treating the bacteria. Certain lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis can cause the formation of biofilms in the lungs and can be fatal. With antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the use of phage therapy has been introduced as an alternative or an additive to the use of antibiotics to combat biofilm growth. Phage therapy utilizes bacteriophages that attack bacteria, to penetrate and eradicate biofilms. To evaluate the effectiveness of phage therapy against biofilm bacteria, we create a phage-biofilm model with ordinary differential equations and a stochastic model. We considered three possible cases for the stability of disease-free equilibrium; by model simulations and parameter alterations in both models, we investigated the effect of bacteria–phage interactions alongside biofilm bacteria cell detachment from the biofilm phase to the planktonic phase, and how these will affect the efficiency of phage therapy against bacteria. Our results show that, by increasing the phage mortality rate, the biofilm growth can be balanced, which makes it more vulnerable to antibiotics. Thus, phage therapy is an effective aid in biofilm treatment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5a4185ce7f344eb4a0036576d114b906 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2544-7297 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Computational and Mathematical Biophysics |
| spelling | doaj-art-5a4185ce7f344eb4a0036576d114b9062025-02-02T15:45:07ZengDe GruyterComputational and Mathematical Biophysics2544-72972025-01-011316600660710.1515/cmb-2024-0018Understanding biofilm--phage interactions in cystic fibrosis patients using mathematical frameworksEmerenini Blessing O.0Hartung Doris1Reyes Grimaldo Ricardo N. G.2Canner Claire3Williams Maya4Agyingi Ephraim5Osgood Robert6School of Mathematics and Statistics, Rochester Institute of Technology, One Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, 14623, NY, United States of AmericaDepartment of Mathematics, Shippensburg University, 1871 Old Main Dr, Shippensburg, 17257, PA, United States of AmericaDepartment of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, 2701 SW Campus Way, Corvallis, 97331, OR, United States of AmericaSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, Rochester Institute of Technology, One Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, 14623, NY, United States of AmericaDepartment of Mathematics, The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Rd, Ewing Township, 08618, NJ, United States of AmericaSchool of Mathematics and Statistics, Rochester Institute of Technology, One Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, 14623, NY, United States of AmericaCollege of Health Sciences and Technology, Rochester Institute of Technology, One Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, 14623, NY, United States of AmericaWhen planktonic bacteria adhere together to a surface, they begin to form biofilms, communities of bacteria. Biofilm formation in a host can be extremely problematic if left untreated, especially since antibiotics can be ineffective in treating the bacteria. Certain lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis can cause the formation of biofilms in the lungs and can be fatal. With antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the use of phage therapy has been introduced as an alternative or an additive to the use of antibiotics to combat biofilm growth. Phage therapy utilizes bacteriophages that attack bacteria, to penetrate and eradicate biofilms. To evaluate the effectiveness of phage therapy against biofilm bacteria, we create a phage-biofilm model with ordinary differential equations and a stochastic model. We considered three possible cases for the stability of disease-free equilibrium; by model simulations and parameter alterations in both models, we investigated the effect of bacteria–phage interactions alongside biofilm bacteria cell detachment from the biofilm phase to the planktonic phase, and how these will affect the efficiency of phage therapy against bacteria. Our results show that, by increasing the phage mortality rate, the biofilm growth can be balanced, which makes it more vulnerable to antibiotics. Thus, phage therapy is an effective aid in biofilm treatment.https://doi.org/10.1515/cmb-2024-0018biofilmphagesmathematical modelingstochastic modeling92-xx92d3060j2834d20 |
| spellingShingle | Emerenini Blessing O. Hartung Doris Reyes Grimaldo Ricardo N. G. Canner Claire Williams Maya Agyingi Ephraim Osgood Robert Understanding biofilm--phage interactions in cystic fibrosis patients using mathematical frameworks Computational and Mathematical Biophysics biofilm phages mathematical modeling stochastic modeling 92-xx 92d30 60j28 34d20 |
| title | Understanding biofilm--phage interactions in cystic fibrosis patients using mathematical frameworks |
| title_full | Understanding biofilm--phage interactions in cystic fibrosis patients using mathematical frameworks |
| title_fullStr | Understanding biofilm--phage interactions in cystic fibrosis patients using mathematical frameworks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding biofilm--phage interactions in cystic fibrosis patients using mathematical frameworks |
| title_short | Understanding biofilm--phage interactions in cystic fibrosis patients using mathematical frameworks |
| title_sort | understanding biofilm phage interactions in cystic fibrosis patients using mathematical frameworks |
| topic | biofilm phages mathematical modeling stochastic modeling 92-xx 92d30 60j28 34d20 |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/cmb-2024-0018 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT emereniniblessingo understandingbiofilmphageinteractionsincysticfibrosispatientsusingmathematicalframeworks AT hartungdoris understandingbiofilmphageinteractionsincysticfibrosispatientsusingmathematicalframeworks AT reyesgrimaldoricardong understandingbiofilmphageinteractionsincysticfibrosispatientsusingmathematicalframeworks AT cannerclaire understandingbiofilmphageinteractionsincysticfibrosispatientsusingmathematicalframeworks AT williamsmaya understandingbiofilmphageinteractionsincysticfibrosispatientsusingmathematicalframeworks AT agyingiephraim understandingbiofilmphageinteractionsincysticfibrosispatientsusingmathematicalframeworks AT osgoodrobert understandingbiofilmphageinteractionsincysticfibrosispatientsusingmathematicalframeworks |