Persister cells, dormancy and infectious disease.
Several well-recognized puzzles in microbiology have remained unsolved for decades. These include latent bacterial infections, unculturable microorganisms, persister cells and biofilm multidrug tolerance. Accumulating evidence suggests that these seemingly disparate phenomena result from the ability of bacteria to enter into a dormant (non-dividing) state. The molecular mechanisms that underlie the formation of dormant persister cells are now being unravelled and are the focus of this Review.
Lewis
Kim
K
Antimicrobial Discovery Center, Department of Biology, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. k.lewis@neu.edu
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D018441:Biofilms; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D050296:Microbial Viability
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents