Yuyama Kamila T, Abraham Wolf-Rainer
Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Chemical Microbiology, Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.. Germany.
Med Chem. 2016;13(1):3-12. doi: 10.2174/1573406412666160506151032.
Microbes attach to surfaces and form biofilms where they are difficult to eradicate. Here they are embedded in a complex matrix of polymers and are much less sensitive against antibiotics or the immune system.
This is a growing problem, especially for implants; hence, novel approaches are urgently needed to control biofilm infections.
Many of these approaches interfere with the communication between the microbial cells required for biofilm formation and maintenance, a process known as quorum sensing. But microbes have also several mechanisms to disperse their own biofilms if conditions become unfavourable.
Recently, it has been found that the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa disperses its mature biofilms using cis-2-decenoic acid. This fatty acid belongs to a group of cis-2-alkenoic acids which are known from several bacteria and are also triggering the communication between different species. In this review the biosynthesis of these compounds, their signal transduction and their role in species-species communication are presented. Examples are discussed where cis-2-alkenoic acids have been used to eradicate biofilms and enhance the sensitivity of pathogens against antibiotics, either alone or in combination with antibiotics.
This presents an interesting approach for the control of biofilm infections but it is still in its infancy and a much broader characterization of the effects of cis-2-alkenoic acids are needed before moving to any medical application.
微生物附着于表面并形成生物膜，在生物膜中它们难以被根除。在生物膜中，微生物被嵌入聚合物的复杂基质中，对抗生素或免疫系统的敏感性大大降低。
这一问题日益严重，尤其是对于植入物而言；因此，迫切需要新的方法来控制生物膜感染。
许多此类方法干扰生物膜形成和维持所需的微生物细胞间通讯，这一过程称为群体感应。但如果条件变得不利，微生物也有几种机制来分散自身的生物膜。
最近发现，病原体铜绿假单胞菌利用顺式-2-癸烯酸分散其成熟生物膜。这种脂肪酸属于一组顺式-2-链烯酸，几种细菌中都有此类酸，它们也能触发不同物种间的通讯。在这篇综述中，介绍了这些化合物的生物合成、信号转导及其在物种间通讯中的作用。讨论了单独或与抗生素联合使用顺式-2-链烯酸根除生物膜并增强病原体对抗生素敏感性的实例。
这为控制生物膜感染提供了一种有趣的方法，但仍处于起步阶段，在进入任何医学应用之前，需要对顺式-2-链烯酸的作用进行更广泛的表征。
