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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jul 16, 2015; 3(7): 575-598
Published online Jul 16, 2015. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v3.i7.575
Role of quorum sensing in bacterial infections
Israel Castillo-Juárez, Toshinari Maeda, Edna Ayerim Mandujano-Tinoco, María Tomás, Berenice Pérez-Eretza, Silvia Julieta García-Contreras, Thomas K Wood, Rodolfo García-Contreras
Israel Castillo-Juárez, Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco 56230, México
Toshinari Maeda, Department of Biological Functions and Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu 808-0196, Japan
Edna Ayerim Mandujano-Tinoco, Epigenetics of Cancer Laboratory, Division of Basic Research, National Institute of Genomic Medicine, Tlalpan 14610, Mexico
María Tomás, Department of Microbiology, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de A Coruña (INIBIC), Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de A Coruña (CHUAC), Sergas, Universidade da Coruña (UDC), 15006 A Coruña, Spain
Berenice Pérez-Eretza, Rodolfo García-Contreras, Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF 04510, Mexico
Silvia Julieta García-Contreras, Centro Médico Coyoacán, Coyoacán CP 04890, México
Thomas K Wood, Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-440, United States
Thomas K Wood, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-440, United States
Author contributions: All authors designed the review and wrote the paper.
Supported by JSPS grant Challenging Exploratory Research, No. 25660062; SEP-CONACyT grant, No. 152794 (García-Contreras R); Fideicomiso COLPOS 167304 and Programa Cátedras-CONACyT 2112 (Castillo-Juárez); the Miguel Servet Program (C.H.U.A Coruña and ISCIII) (Tomás M); the CONACyT grant number 441393/269132 (Mandujano-Tinoco EA); and the Biotechnology Endowed Chair at the Pennsylvania State University.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Rodolfo García-Contreras, Associate Professor, Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av Universidad 3000, Coyoacán, México DF 04510, Mexico. rgarc@bq.unam.mx
Telephone: +52-55-22514217 Fax: +52-55-56232468
Received: October 9, 2014
Peer-review started: October 13, 2014
First decision: November 14, 2014
Revised: November 30, 2014
Accepted: April 16, 2015
Article in press: April 20, 2015
Published online: July 16, 2015
Processing time: 290 Days and 18.5 Hours
Abstract

Quorum sensing (QS) is cell communication that is widely used by bacterial pathogens to coordinate the expression of several collective traits, including the production of multiple virulence factors, biofilm formation, and swarming motility once a population threshold is reached. Several lines of evidence indicate that QS enhances virulence of bacterial pathogens in animal models as well as in human infections; however, its relative importance for bacterial pathogenesis is still incomplete. In this review, we discuss the present evidence from in vitro and in vivo experiments in animal models, as well as from clinical studies, that link QS systems with human infections. We focus on two major QS bacterial models, the opportunistic Gram negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus, which are also two of the main agents responsible of nosocomial and wound infections. In addition, QS communication systems in other bacterial, eukaryotic pathogens, and even immune and cancer cells are also reviewed, and finally, the new approaches proposed to combat bacterial infections by the attenuation of their QS communication systems and virulence are also discussed.

Keywords: Quorum sensing; Virulence; Infections; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus aureus; Animal models

Core tip: In this manuscript we discuss the basics aspects of quorum sensing (QS) and its relationship with human infections, focusing in two major QS bacterial models, the opportunistic Gram negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.