Repair Process Impairment by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Epithelial Tissues: Major Features and Potential Therapeutic Avenues

Abstract

Epithelial tissues protecting organs from the environment are the first-line of defense against pathogens. Therefore, efficient repair mechanisms after injury are crucial to maintain epithelial integrity. However, these healing processes can be insufficient to restore epithelial integrity, notably in infectious conditions. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in cutaneous, corneal, and respiratory tract epithelia are of particular concern because they are the leading causes of hospitalizations, disabilities, and deaths worldwide. Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been shown to alter repair processes, leading to chronic wounds and infections. Because of the current increase in the incidence of multi-drug resistant isolates of P. aeruginosa , complementary approaches to decrease the negative impact of these bacteria on epithelia are urgently needed. Here, we review the recent advances in the understanding of the impact of P. aeruginosa infections on the integrity and repair mechanisms of alveolar, airway, cutaneous and corneal epithelia. Potential therapeutic avenues aimed at counteracting this deleterious impact of infection are also discussed.

Diagnosis and Management of Diabetic Foot Infections

“…Specific bac-terial virulence mechanisms have been studied in detail. For example, Pseudomonas aeruginosa is optimized for adherence to the surface of the skin epithelium but is also able to invade into the deeper wound bed tissue (16). Pseudomonas can even exist inside host cells (keratinocytes), where it effectively evades the immune system.…”

Iron Pathways and Iron Chelation Approaches in Viral, Microbial, and Fungal Infections

“…Together with complex metabolic processes, these features support its propagation in unfavorable environments [ 103 ]. The pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa is mediated by structural components including flagellum and pili as well as cell surface glycolipids and lectins that are involved in bacterial movement and adhesion to host cells [ 104 ]. Further, secretion of virulence factors is mediated by quorum sensing pathways leading to secretion of elastases (proteases) into the host environment [ 104 ].…”

“…The pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa is mediated by structural components including flagellum and pili as well as cell surface glycolipids and lectins that are involved in bacterial movement and adhesion to host cells [ 104 ]. Further, secretion of virulence factors is mediated by quorum sensing pathways leading to secretion of elastases (proteases) into the host environment [ 104 ]. In addition, P. aeruginosa is capable of injecting cytotoxins into host cells [ 104 ].…”

“…Further, secretion of virulence factors is mediated by quorum sensing pathways leading to secretion of elastases (proteases) into the host environment [ 104 ]. In addition, P. aeruginosa is capable of injecting cytotoxins into host cells [ 104 ].…”

“…In wounds infected with P. aeruginosa , the rate of repair is diminished in multiple animal models (e.g., rabbit, murine, pig in vivo models) [ 104 ]. Specifically, in a murine wound model (in which a muscle was injured in the right rectus abdominus to which P. aeruginosa was applied), transcriptional profiling identified 7 out of 136 differentially expressed genes that were involved in pyochelin biosynthesis, including the pyochelin receptor fptA, pchH, pchG, pchE, pchD, pchB, and pchC (the biosynthesis of Pch requires the iron-regulated pchDCBA operon) [ 106 ].…”