Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum Sensing Systems as Drug Discovery Targets: Current Position and Future Perspectives

J Med Chem. 2018 Dec 13;61(23):10385-10402. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00540. Epub 2018 Jul 27.

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to public health globally, manifested by the frequent emergence of multidrug resistant pathogens that render current chemotherapy inadequate. Health organizations worldwide have recognized the severity of this crisis and implemented action plans to contain its adverse consequences and prolong the utility of conventional antibiotics. Hence, there is a pressing need for new classes of antibacterial agents with novel modes of action. Quorum sensing (QS), a communication system employed by bacterial populations to coordinate virulence gene expression, is a potential target that has been intensively investigated over the past decade. This Perspective will focus on recent advances in targeting the three main quorum sensing systems ( las, rhl, and pqs) of a major opportunistic human pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and will specifically evaluate the medicinal chemistry strategies devised to develop QS inhibitors from a drug discovery perspective.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Drug Discovery / methods*
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / cytology*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects*
  • Quorum Sensing / drug effects*