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Analyzing the effects of benzodiazepines on the virulence and biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
ARPBIG group, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Crtra. Valldemossa 79, Palma, Spain; Microbiology Department, University Hospital Son Espases (HUSE), Crtra. Valldemossa 79, Palma, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Área Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Av. Monforte de Lemos 5, Madrid, Spain.
ARPBIG group, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Crtra. Valldemossa 79, Palma, Spain; Microbiology Department, University Hospital Son Espases (HUSE), Crtra. Valldemossa 79, Palma, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Área Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Av. Monforte de Lemos 5, Madrid, Spain.
ARPBIG group, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Crtra. Valldemossa 79, Palma, Spain; Microbiology Department, University Hospital Son Espases (HUSE), Crtra. Valldemossa 79, Palma, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Área Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Av. Monforte de Lemos 5, Madrid, Spain.
ARPBIG group, Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands (IdISBa), Crtra. Valldemossa 79, Palma, Spain; Microbiology Department, University Hospital Son Espases (HUSE), Crtra. Valldemossa 79, Palma, Spain.
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2026 (English)In: Scientific Reports, E-ISSN 2045-2322, Vol. 16, no 1, article id 2923Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Sedation with benzodiazepines (BZs) has eventual side-effects increasing the risk for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) (e.g. immunity alterations and nervous/mechanical responses), but there are some knowledge gaps on the topic. For instance, whether BZs could cause a modulation of bacterial virulence, and/or influence the host-pathogen interaction in neglected contexts to facilitate VAP. Consequently, we analyzed relevant in vitro and in vivo infection-related parameters to decipher whether they could be affected by BZs to increase the success for infection of the top VAP-causing pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. While most variables were unaltered, an attenuated pathogenic impact on lung A549 cells (invasion, cytotoxicity and inflammation reduced up to ≈ 50%) appeared upon BZs exposure at high therapeutic concentrations, potentially because of effects mostly on the cultured cells. These facts could entail a BZs-associated stealth pathogen-like behavior of P. aeruginosa consisting of a weak immune activation proportional to the mild damage caused, perhaps favoring VAP onset. BZs also triggered a significantly increased biofilm formation (up to ≈ 2-fold > controls) on plastic plates and endotracheal tubes (supported by the upregulation of biofilm-related genes/KEGG pathways and increased c-di-GMP accumulation), suggesting the BZ-dependent boosted formation of these sessile reservoirs which could potentially increase bacterial release to low airways and thus VAP progression.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2026. Vol. 16, no 1, article id 2923
Keywords [en]
Benzodiazepines, Biofilm, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Ventilator-associated pneumonia, Virulence
National Category
Medical Biotechnology (Focus on Cell Biology, (incl. Stem Cell Biology), Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry or Biopharmacy)
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URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-249437DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-32848-4ISI: 001669620700001PubMedID: 41398049Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105028533594OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-249437DiVA, id: diva2:2037352
Available from: 2026-02-10 Created: 2026-02-10 Last updated: 2026-02-10Bibliographically approved

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Torrens, Gabriel

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Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS)Umeå Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR)Department of Molecular Biology (Faculty of Medicine)
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Medical Biotechnology (Focus on Cell Biology, (incl. Stem Cell Biology), Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry or Biopharmacy)

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