QS9: Host Biofilm Interaction In Breast Implant Illness
Authors: Khan Imran , Minto Robert E. , Kelley-Patteson Christine , Van Natta Bruce , Mohan Ganesh , Suh Lily , Singh Kanhaiya , Lester Mary , Jason VonDerHaar R , Gordillo Gayle M. , Hassanein Aladdin , Sen Chandan K. , Kadin Marshall E. , Sinha Mithun 
Published: July 2021

Purpose: Breast Implant Illness (BII) is patient-described constellation of symptoms that are believed to be related to their breast implant. The symptoms described include fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and a host of other symptoms that are often associated with autoimmune illnesses. In this work, we report that bacterial biofilm associated with breast implant, metabolize fatty acid oleic acid present in the breast tissue milieu to oxylipins, one such oxylipin identified from this study is (10S)-hydroxy-(8E)-octadecenoic acid (10-HOME). We hypothesize that immunomodulatory effects of oxylipin 10-HOME produced by biofilm present on the implant could be correlated with BII pathogenesis.

Methods: Capsulectomy and breast implants from clinically indicated procedures for patients requesting prosthetic removal were collected using clinical parameters outlined in previous studies, and questionnaire screened for the commonly reported symptoms associated with BII. Predictive variables included age, diabetes status, co-morbidities, nature and duration of implant. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) and 16SrRNA sequencing were used for bacterial biofilm bacterial identification. 10-HOME was quantitated through targeted and untargeted lipidomic analyses using LC-MS-MS.

Results: Sixty eight Implant, associated capsules and breast tissue specimen were collected for BII (n=46) and two control groups, group I, (non-BII, n=14) patients with breast implants, no BII symptoms. Group II (normal tissue, n = 8), patients without an implant, whose breast tissue was removed due to surgical procedures. Bacterial biofilm was detected through SEM in both BII and non BII cohorts. However, WGA analysis (quantitative analysis) indicated increased abundance of biofilm in the BII cohort (n=7, p=0.0036). 16SrRNA (genomic) sequencing identified increased abundance of Staphylococcus epidermidis (Fisher’s exact test, p<0.001) in the BII group (63.04%) compared to non-BII group (14.3%) and the normal group. The BII group was 9.8 times significantly more likely to have Staphylococcus epidermidis colonization compared to the non-BII group (p=0.003, logistic regression), compared to normal, it is 17.4 times significantly more likely to have Staphylococcus epidermidis (p=0.0021). Elevated levels of 10-HOME BII compared to non-BII samples, (p < 0.0001) were observed through mass spectrometry. Positive correlation was observed between bacterial abundance and concentration of 10-HOME in BII subjects (R2=0.88). Similar correlation was observed in BII subjects with Staphylococcus epidermidis (R2=0.77).

Conclusion: This study investigated the biofilm hypothesis of breast implant illness through a host-pathogen interaction. The breast microenvironment led to formation of biofilm derived 10-HOME from host oleic acid. The study provides the first evidence of a possible correlation between bacterial biofilm and biofilm derived 10-HOME in the context of 10-HOME. In consideration of reports of biofilm association with other metal implants, the findings of this study can possibly explain autoimmune response associated with those implants.