Fozard J A, Lees M, King J R, Logan B S
School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Biosystems. 2012 Aug;109(2):105-14. doi: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2012.02.002. Epub 2012 Feb 25.
Bacteria communicate through small diffusible molecules in a process known as quorum sensing. Quorum-sensing inhibitors are compounds which interfere with this, providing a potential treatment for infections associated with bacterial biofilms. We present an individual-based computational model for a developing biofilm. Cells are aggregated into particles for computational efficiency, but the quorum-sensing mechanism is modelled as a stochastic process on the level of individual cells. Simulations are used to investigate different treatment regimens. The response to the addition of inhibitor is found to depend significantly on the form of the positive feedback in the quorum-sensing model; in cases where the model exhibits bistability, the time at which treatment is initiated proves to be critical for the effective prevention of quorum sensing and hence potentially of virulence.
细菌通过称为群体感应的过程中的可扩散小分子进行通讯。群体感应抑制剂是干扰这一过程的化合物，为与细菌生物膜相关的感染提供了一种潜在的治疗方法。我们提出了一个用于发育中生物膜的基于个体的计算模型。为了提高计算效率，细胞被聚集成颗粒，但群体感应机制在单个细胞水平上被建模为一个随机过程。模拟用于研究不同的治疗方案。发现对添加抑制剂的反应显著取决于群体感应模型中的正反馈形式；在模型表现出双稳态的情况下，开始治疗的时间被证明对于有效预防群体感应以及因此潜在的毒力至关重要。
