Prioritization of potential drug targets against P. aeruginosa biofilms

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a relevant topic nowadays, representing one of the main causes of infection-related mortality and morbidity at a global level. One of the factors in the emergence of resistance is related to biofilms. Biofilms can be found on several living and nonliving surfaces, which are formed by a group of microorganisms, complex assembly of proteins, polysaccharides, and DNAs in an extracellular polymeric matrix. By forming a biofilm, bacteria protect themselves from host defense, disinfectants, and antibiotics. Bacteria inside biofilm are much more resistant to antimicrobial agents than planktonic forms since bacteria that are unresisting to antimicrobial agents in any way can turn resistant after forming a biofilm. Low penetration of antibiotics into the biofilm, slow reproduction, and the existence of adaptive stress response constitute the multiphase defense of the bacterium. This antibiotic resistance, which is provided by biofilm, makes the treatments, which use effective antibiotic doses on the bacterium in planktonic shape, difficult. During the process of biofilm formation microorganisms have the ability to communicate with each other through quorum sensing (QS). QS regulates the metabolic activity of planktonic cells, and it can induce microbial biofilm formation and increased virulence.