Kavanaugh Jeffrey S, Horswill Alexander R
Department of Microbiology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242.
Department of Microbiology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242.
J Biol Chem. 2016 Jun 10;291(24):12556-12564. doi: 10.1074/jbc.R116.722710. Epub 2016 Apr 21.
Staphylococci are commensal bacteria that colonize the epithelial surfaces of humans and many other mammals. These bacteria can also attach to implanted medical devices and develop surface-associated biofilm communities that resist clearance by host defenses and available chemotherapies. These communities are often associated with persistent staphylococcal infections that place a tremendous burden on the healthcare system. Understanding the regulatory program that controls staphylococcal biofilm development, as well as the environmental conditions that modulate this program, has been a focal point of research in recent years. A central regulator controlling biofilm development is a peptide quorum-sensing system, also called the accessory gene regulator or agr system. In the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, the agr system controls production of exo-toxins and exo-enzymes essential for causing infections, and simultaneously, it modulates the ability of this pathogen to attach to surfaces and develop a biofilm, or to disperse from the biofilm state. In this review, we explore advances on the interconnections between the agr quorum-sensing system and biofilm mechanisms, and topics covered include recent findings on how different environmental conditions influence quorum sensing, the impact on biofilm development, and ongoing questions and challenges in the field. As our understanding of the quorum sensing and biofilm interconnection advances, there are growing opportunities to take advantage of this knowledge and develop therapeutic approaches to control staphylococcal infections.
葡萄球菌是定殖于人类和许多其他哺乳动物上皮表面的共生细菌。这些细菌还能附着在植入式医疗设备上，并形成与表面相关的生物膜群落，这些群落能够抵抗宿主防御机制和现有化疗手段的清除作用。这些群落通常与持续性葡萄球菌感染相关，给医疗系统带来了巨大负担。了解控制葡萄球菌生物膜形成的调控程序，以及调节该程序的环境条件，是近年来研究的重点。控制生物膜形成的一个核心调节因子是一种肽类群体感应系统，也称为附属基因调节因子或agr系统。在机会致病菌金黄色葡萄球菌中，agr系统控制着引起感染所必需的外毒素和外酶的产生，同时，它还调节该病原体附着于表面并形成生物膜，或从生物膜状态分散的能力。在这篇综述中，我们探讨了agr群体感应系统与生物膜机制之间相互联系的研究进展，涵盖的主题包括不同环境条件如何影响群体感应的最新发现、对生物膜形成的影响，以及该领域目前存在的问题和挑战。随着我们对群体感应与生物膜相互联系的理解不断深入，利用这些知识开发控制葡萄球菌感染治疗方法的机会也越来越多。
