Optimization of Biofilm Formation in In Vitro Conditions Mimicking Stomach

is one of the most common bacterial pathogens worldwide and the main etiological agent of numerous gastric diseases. The frequency of multidrug resistance of is growing and the leading factor related to this phenomenon is its ability to form biofilm. Therefore, the establishment of a proper model to study this structure is of critical need. In response to this, the aim of this original article is to validate conditions of the optimal biofilm development of in monoculture and co-culture with a gastric cell line in media simulating human fluids. Using a set of culture-based and microscopic techniques, we proved that simulated transcellular fluid and simulated gastric fluid, when applied in appropriate concentrations, stimulate autoaggregation and biofilm formation of . Additionally, using a co-culture system on semi-permeable membranes in media imitating the stomach environment, we were able to obtain a monolayer of a gastric cell line with biofilm on its surface. We believe that the current model for biofilm formation in monoculture and co-culture with gastric cells in media containing host-mimicking fluids will constitute a platform for the intensification of research on biofilms in in vitro conditions that simulate the human body.