FIGURE 8.

Bovine lactoferrin degrades eDNA in preformed Streptococcus pneumoniae biofilms in Hep-2 cells. S. pneumoniae strain D39 (7.5 × 10⁴ CFU/ml) was inoculated in a 24-well plate containing Hep-2 cells and incubated for 4 h (A,B) at 37°C with a 5% CO₂ atmosphere. Then, planktonic cells were removed, biofilms washed once, then treated with bovine Lactoferrin (bLF) for 6 h (A) or 12 h (B). After that, the supernatants were removed and DNA extracted. eDNA quantification was performed by using qPCR. Experiments were repeated at least three times. Standard deviation of the mean is shown. Asterisks indicate statistical significance calculated using the ANOVA test (p < 0.05).