Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Infections and novel approaches to treatment "Knowing the enemy" the threat of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and exploring novel approaches to treatment

Nikhil Sathe; Peter Beech; Larry Croft; Cenk Suphioglu; Arnab Kapat; Eugene Athan

doi:10.1016/j.imj.2023.05.003

Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Infections and novel approaches to treatment "Knowing the enemy" the threat of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and exploring novel approaches to treatment

Infect Med (Beijing). 2023 May 26;2(3):178-194. doi: 10.1016/j.imj.2023.05.003. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Nikhil Sathe^{1

2}, Peter Beech², Larry Croft², Cenk Suphioglu³, Arnab Kapat¹, Eugene Athan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Reliance Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Dhirubhai Ambani Life Sciences Centre, Thane Belapur Road, Rabale, Navi Mumbai 400701, India.
² School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood Victoria 3125, Australia.
³ NeuroAllergy Research Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong Campus at Waurn Ponds, 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds Victoria 3216, Australia.
⁴ School of Medicine, Deakin University, PO Box 281 Geelong 3220, Australia.

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an aerobic Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium with a comparatively large genome and an impressive genetic capability allowing it to grow in a variety of environments and tolerate a wide range of physical conditions. This biological flexibility enables the P. aeruginosa to cause a broad range of infections in patients with serious underlying medical conditions, and to be a principal cause of health care associated infection worldwide. The clinical manifestations of P. aeruginosa include mostly health care associated infections and community-acquired infections. P. aeruginosa possesses an array of virulence factors that counteract host defence mechanisms. It can directly damage host tissue while utilizing high levels of intrinsic and acquired antimicrobial resistance mechanisms to counter most classes of antibiotics. P. aeruginosa co-regulates multiple resistance mechanisms by perpetually moving targets poses a significant therapeutic challenge. Thus, there is an urgent need for novel approaches in the development of anti-Pseudomonas agents. Here we review the principal infections caused by P. aeruginosa and we discuss novel therapeutic options to tackle antibiotic resistance and treatment of P. aeruginosa infections that may be further developed for clinical practice.

Keywords: Antibiotics; Bacteriophages; Immunotherapy; Infections; Novel Approaches; Pseudomonas; Resistance; Vaccines.

Publication types

Review