The two faces of pyocyanin - why and how to steer its production?

Abstract

The ambiguous nature of pyocyanin was noted quite early after its discovery. This substance is a recognized Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence factor that causes problems in cystic fibrosis, wound healing, and microbiologically induced corrosion. However, it can also be a potent chemical with potential use in a wide variety of technologies and applications, e.g. green energy production in microbial fuel cells, biocontrol in agriculture, therapy in medicine, or environmental protection. In this mini-review, we shortly describe the properties of pyocyanin, its role in the physiology of Pseudomonas and show the ever-growing interest in it. We also summarize the possible ways of modulating pyocyanin production. We underline different approaches of the researchers that aim either at lowering or increasing pyocyanin production by using different culturing methods, chemical additives, physical factors (e.g. electromagnetic field), or genetic engineering techniques. The review aims to present the ambiguous character of pyocyanin, underline its potential, and signalize the possible further research directions.

A biomedical perspective of pyocyanin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa: its applications and challenges

“…The presence of organic solvents like toluene and chloroform as well as surfactants such as Triton X-100 and Tween 20 has also been experimentally proven to enhance pyocyanin synthesis (Ozdal 2019 ). However, certain compounds including nitric oxide, nanomaterials like silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), phenolic compounds such as quercetin and ellagic acid, sodium citrate, benzimidazolium salts, and antimicrobial peptides like calgranulin C have been shown to inhibit the synthesis of pyocyanin, possible by interfering with the expression of phzM (Zhou et al 2022 ; Jabłońska et al 2023 ).…”

“…Though pyocyanin is associated with several medically beneficial properties, it is also actively involved in several biomedical challenges posed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Jabłońska et al 2023 ). Pyocyanin’s ability to interfere with cellular functions in normal human cells exacerbates the effects of P. aeruginosa infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals, hospital patients, victims of burn wounds and other skin injuries, as well as those suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF).…”

“…The history, virulence mechanisms, and potential biotechnological applications of pyocyanin in different industries have been elucidated by Gonçalves and Vasconcelos ( 2021 ) and Sahoo et al ( 2023 ). A number of scientific articles have reviewed the physical, chemical, and biological properties of pyocyanin as well as its beneficial characteristics and undesirable properties (Jayaseelan et al 2014 ; Rani and Azmi 2019 ; Srivastava et al 2022 ; Jabłońska et al 2023 ). This review, on the other hand, offers a biomedical perspective on pyocyanin which assumes great importance given the fact that pyocyanin is yet to be used as a biotherapeutic despite its unending potential due to its virulent nature and its role in the exacerbation of P. aeruginosa infections in immunocompromised individuals, skin abrasions and wounds, as well as cystic fibrosis patients.…”

Insights on adsorption of pyocyanin in montmorillonite using molecular dynamics simulation

“…[6][7][8] In view of the importance of pyocyanin in the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa, the inactivation/deactivation of the molecule or the modulation of pyocyanin production was proposed as an alternative approach to disarming the pathogen. 9,10 Indeed, the inactivation of virulence factors (including pyocyanin) by adsorption has been shown to attenuate the cytotoxicity of the pathogen by neutralizing virulence factors, and transcriptionally suppress virulence gene expression. 11,12 Our earlier study showed that clay minerals (Namontmorillonite and sepiolite) adsorbed pyocyanin and probably transformed pyocyanin in the interlayer of the montmorillonite and in the tunnel of sepiolite.…”