Biotechnological applications of quorum sensing inhibition as novel therapeutic strategies for multidrug resistant pathogens

Shaaban, Mona I.; Elgaml, Abdelaziz; Habib, El‐Sayed E.

doi:10.1016/j.micpath.2018.11.043

Cited by 43 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…This fact has many public health implications. Quorum sensing disruption is currently investigated as a possible target to develop new classes of antibiotics [79,80]. Remarkably, recent developments indicate that bacterial communities rely on electrochemical processes for communication purposes, just as nerve cells do [81][82][83].…”

Section: Sociomicrobiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The brain: a concept in flux

Pagán

2019

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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One of the most important aspects of the scientific endeavour is the definition of specific concepts as precisely as possible. However, it is also important not to lose sight of two facts: (i) we divide the study of nature into manageable parts in order to better understand it owing to our limited cognitive capacities and (ii) definitions are inherently arbitrary and heavily influenced by cultural norms, language, the current political climate, and even personal preferences, among many other factors. As a consequence of these facts, clear-cut definitions, despite their evident importance, are oftentimes quite difficult to formulate. One of the most illustrative examples about the difficulty of articulating precise scientific definitions is trying to define the concept of a brain. Even though the current thinking about the brain is beginning to take into account a variety of organisms, a vertebrocentric bias still tends to dominate the scientific discourse about this concept. Here I will briefly explore the evolution of our ‘thoughts about the brain’, highlighting the difficulty of constructing a universally (or even a generally) accepted formal definition of it and using planarians as one of the earliest examples of organisms proposed to possess a ‘traditional’, vertebrate-style brain. I also suggest that the time is right to attempt to expand our view of what a brain is, going beyond exclusively structural and taxa-specific criteria. Thus, I propose a classification that could represent a starting point in an effort to expand our current definitions of the brain, hopefully to help initiate conversations leading to changes of perspective on how we think about this concept. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Liquid brains, solid brains: How distributed cognitive architectures process information’.

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Section: Sociomicrobiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The brain: a concept in flux

Pagán

2019

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…The QS network of P. aeruginosa integrates three systems, las, rhl, and pqs (Lee et al, 2013), whereas S. aureus employs the accessory gene regulator (agr) QS system (Gordon et al, 2013;Bronesky et al, 2016). QS regulates the expression of diverse virulence genes (Njoroge and Sperandio, 2009), and thus QS inhibition has been widely investigated as an alternative to antibiotics to tackle specific pathogens given that interference with signaling would allow attenuation of virulence without compromising bacterial viability, thereby reducing the likely selection of resistance (Njoroge and Sperandio, 2009;Romero et al, 2012;Soukarieh et al, 2018;Shaaban et al, 2019). A notable added benefit is that QS inhibition may reduce biofilm maturation such that susceptibility to antibiotics and host defenses is enhanced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Simple Polymicrobial Biofilm Keratinocyte Colonization Model for Exploring Interactions Between Commensals, Pathogens and Antimicrobials

et al. 2020

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Skin offers protection against external insults, with the skin microbiota playing a crucial defensive role against pathogens that gain access when the skin barrier is breached. Linkages between skin microbes, biofilms and disease have not been well established although single-species biofilm formation by skin microbiota in vitro has been extensively studied. Consequently, the purpose of this work was to optimize and validate a simple polymicrobial biofilm keratinocyte model for investigating commensal, pathogen and keratinocyte interactions and for evaluating therapeutic agents or health promoting interventions. The model incorporates the commensals (Staphylococcus epidermidis and Micrococcus luteus) and pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) which form robust polymicrobial biofilms on immortalized keratinocytes (HaCat cells). We observed that the commensals reduce the damage caused to the keratinocyte monolayer by either pathogen. When the commensals were combined with P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, much thinner biofilms were observed than those formed by the pathogens alone. When P. aeruginosa was inoculated with S. epidermidis in the presence or absence of M. luteus, the commensals formed a layer between the keratinocytes and pathogen. Although S. aureus completely inhibited the growth of M. luteus in dual-species biofilms, inclusion of S. epidermidis in triple or quadruple species biofilms, enabled M. luteus to retain viability. Using this polymicrobial biofilm keratinocyte model, we demonstrate that a quorum sensing (QS) deficient S. aureus agr mutant, in contrast to the parent, failed to damage the keratinocyte monolayer unless supplied with the exogenous cognate autoinducing peptide. In addition, we show that treatment of the polymicrobial keratinocyte model with nanoparticles containing an inhibitor of the PQS QS system reduced biofilm thickness and P. aeruginosa localization in mono-and polymicrobial biofilms.

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“…[8][9][10][11] One such strategy is to inhibit a phenomenon named quorum sensing in these deadly pathogens. 12 Quorum sensing is a bacterial cell-to-cell communication mechanism mediated by a set of chemicals known as autoinducers. 13 At the core of quorum sensing process is the production, release, accumulation and population-wide detection of the autoinducers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%