Abstract
The growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance and the paucity of novel antibiotics underscore the importance of developing novel therapeutics. Bacterial cell-to-cell signaling constitutes a novel drug target. Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell signaling mechanism that refers to the ability of bacteria to respond to chemical hormone-like molecules called autoinducers. QS is responsible for controlling a plethora of virulence genes in several bacterial pathogens. Antagonists to autoinducers will intercept bacterial intercellular communication, hindering their ability to act in a coordinated manner to express virulence traits. Moreover, since QS is not involved directly in essential processes, such as bacterial growth, one can reason that inhibition of QS will not yield a selective pressure for the development of resistance.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 271-276 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2007 |
Keywords
- Bacterial pathogenesis
- EHEC
- Enterohemorrhagic E. coli
- Epinephrine
- Quorum sensing
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology
- Microbiology (medical)
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases