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Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms in disease
#MMPMID24096885
Mulcahy LR
; Isabella VM
; Lewis K
Microb Ecol
2014[Jul]; 68
(1
): 1-12
PMID24096885
show ga
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous organism that is the focus of intense
research because of its prominent role in disease. Due to its relatively large
genome and flexible metabolic capabilities, this organism exploits numerous
environmental niches. It is an opportunistic pathogen that sets upon the human
host when the normal immune defenses are disabled. Its deadliness is most
apparent in cystic fibrosis patients, but it also is a major problem in burn
wounds, chronic wounds, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, surface growth on
implanted biomaterials, and within hospital surface and water supplies, where it
poses a host of threats to vulnerable patients (Peleg and Hooper, N Engl J Med
362:1804-1813, 2010; Breathnach et al., J Hosp Infect 82:19-24, 2012). Once
established in the patient, P. aeruginosa can be especially difficult to treat.
The genome encodes a host of resistance genes, including multidrug efflux pumps
(Poole, J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 3:255-264, 2001) and enzymes conferring
resistance to beta-lactam and aminoglycoside antibotics (Vahdani et al., Annal
Burns Fire Disast 25:78-81, 2012), making therapy against this gram-negative
pathogen particularly challenging due to the lack of novel antimicrobial
therapeutics (Lewis, Nature 485: 439-440, 2012). This challenge is compounded by
the ability of P. aeruginosa to grow in a biofilm, which may enhance its ability
to cause infections by protecting bacteria from host defenses and chemotherapy.
Here, we review recent studies of P. aeruginosa biofilms with a focus on how this
unique mode of growth contributes to its ability to cause recalcitrant
infections.