title: Role of quorum sensing in bacterial infections.
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.
authors.affiliation: Israel Castillo-Juárez, Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco 56230, México.
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Castillo-Juárez
authors.affiliation: Israel Castillo-Juárez, Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco 56230, México.
authors.forename: Toshinari
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.affiliation: Israel Castillo-Juárez, Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco 56230, México.
authors.forename: Edna Ayerim
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Mandujano-Tinoco
authors.affiliation: Israel Castillo-Juárez, Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco 56230, México.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomás
authors.affiliation: Israel Castillo-Juárez, Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco 56230, México.
authors.forename: Berenice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pérez-Eretza
authors.affiliation: Israel Castillo-Juárez, Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco 56230, México.
authors.forename: Silvia Julieta
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: García-Contreras
authors.affiliation: Israel Castillo-Juárez, Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco 56230, México.
authors.forename: Thomas K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Israel Castillo-Juárez, Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Texcoco 56230, México.
authors.forename: Rodolfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: García-Contreras
keywords: Animal models; Infections; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Quorum sensing; Staphylococcus aureus; Virulence