Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum Sensing and Biofilm Inhibition

Abstract

Abstract The rise of bacterial antibiotic-resistance has directed attention toward nonantibiotic virulence inhibitors. Antivirulence studies focus on inhibiting virulence without killing the bacteria. It is now known that most bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa utilize quorum sensing to sense their population densities and regulate virulence and physiological behaviors. P. aeruginosa is known to regulate most of its virulence factors and related behavior, including biofilm formation through quorum sensing. Therefore, quorum sensing inhibition or quorum quenching came into prominence among antivirulence approaches. Quorum quenching applications usually take advantage of natural and synthetic compounds, enzymes, and antibodies. Numerous quorum sensing inhibitors have been identified against P. aeruginosa. Advances in information technologies support rapid virtual screenings of chemical libraries and other in silico methods toward this goal. Recently, multitherapy applications have taken quorum quenching methods a step further. This chapter focuses on quorum quenching approaches and related quorum sensing inhibitors against P. aeruginosa.