Persistent bacterial infections and persister cells

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Many bacteria can infect and persist inside their hosts for long periods of time. In this Review, Fisher, Gollan and Helaine discuss recent developments in our understanding of bacterial persisters and their potential implications for the treatment of persistent infections.

Related collections

Most cited references 108

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Bacterial persistence as a phenotypic switch.

Nathalie Q Balaban, Jack Merrin, Remy Chait … (2004)

A fraction of a genetically homogeneous microbial population may survive exposure to stress such as antibiotic treatment. Unlike resistant mutants, cells regrown from such persistent bacteria remain sensitive to the antibiotic. We investigated the persistence of single cells of Escherichia coli with the use of microfluidic devices. Persistence was linked to preexisting heterogeneity in bacterial populations because phenotypic switching occurred between normally growing cells and persister cells having reduced growth rates. Quantitative measurements led to a simple mathematical description of the persistence switch. Inherent heterogeneity of bacterial populations may be important in adaptation to fluctuating environments and in the persistence of bacterial infections.

0 comments Cited 971 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Article: not found

Bacterial Biofilms: A Common Cause of Persistent Infections

J Costerton (1999)

0 comments Cited 801 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Lung infections associated with cystic fibrosis.

J Lyczak, C. L. Cannon, G B Pier (2002)

While originally characterized as a collection of related syndromes, cystic fibrosis (CF) is now recognized as a single disease whose diverse symptoms stem from the wide tissue distribution of the gene product that is defective in CF, the ion channel and regulator, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Defective CFTR protein impacts the function of the pancreas and alters the consistency of mucosal secretions. The latter of these effects probably plays an important role in the defective resistance of CF patients to many pathogens. As the modalities of CF research have changed over the decades from empirical histological studies to include biophysical measurements of CFTR function, the clinical management of this disease has similarly evolved to effectively address the ever-changing spectrum of CF-related infectious diseases. These factors have led to the successful management of many CF-related infections with the notable exception of chronic lung infection with the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The virulence of P. aeruginosa stems from multiple bacterial attributes, including antibiotic resistance, the ability to utilize quorum-sensing signals to form biofilms, the destructive potential of a multitude of its microbial toxins, and the ability to acquire a mucoid phenotype, which renders this microbe resistant to both the innate and acquired immunologic defenses of the host.