Gianmarco Conte

Dr. Gianmarco Conte

Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Lombardy, Italy

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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6 June 2022 in Microorganisms
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
DCDavide Carcione
Davide Carcione
GLGabriella Leccese
Gabriella Leccese
GCGianmarco Conte
Gianmarco Conte
Elio RossiElio Rossi
Elio Rossi
JIJARI INTRA
JARI INTRA
MPMoira Paroni
Moira Paroni
Staphylococcus epidermidis is an opportunistic pathogen and a frequent cause of nosocomial infections. In this work, we show that, among 51 S. epidermidis isolates from an Italian hospital, only a minority displayed biofilm formation, regardless of their isolation source (peripheral blood, catheter, or skin wounds); however, among the biofilm-producing isolates, those from catheters were the most efficient in biofilm formation. Interestingly, most isolates including strong biofilm producers displayed production levels of PIA (polysaccharide intercellular adhesin), the main S. epidermidis extracellular polysaccharide, similar to reference S. epidermidis strains classified as non-biofilm formers, and much lower than those classified as intermediate or high biofilm formers, possibly suggesting that high levels of PIA production do not confer a particular advantage for clinical isolates. Finally, while for the reference S. epidermidis strains the biofilm production clearly correlated with the decreased sensitivity to antibiotics, in particular, protein synthesis inhibitors, in our clinical isolates, such positive correlation was limited to tetracycline. In contrast, we observed an inverse correlation between biofilm formation and the minimal inhibitory concentrations for levofloxacin and teicoplanin. In addition, in growth conditions favoring PIA production, the biofilm-forming isolates showed increased sensitivity to daptomycin, clindamycin, and erythromycin, with increased tolerance to the trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole association. The lack of direct correlation between the biofilm production and increased tolerance to antibiotics in S. epidermidis isolates from a clinical setting would suggest, at least for some antimicrobials, the possible existence of a trade-off between the production of biofilm determinants and antibiotic resistance.