The Use of Pyocins in Treating Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections
Suphan Bakkal
from: The Bacteriocins: Current Knowledge and Future Prospects (Edited by: Robert L. Dorit, Sandra M. Roy and Margaret A. Riley). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2016) Pages: 81-102.
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen occurring in the urinary tract, skin, eye, ear, and lungs, is associated with life-threatening hospital-acquired and community-acquired infections. Although antibiotics are commonly used to fight P. aeruginosa infections, they are increasingly ineffective in the face of increasing Pseudomonas antibiotic resistance. Recent studies have focussed on the potential of pyocins, protein bacterial toxins produced by P. aeruginosa, to serve as as novel antibiotics for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections. As with other members of bacteriocin family, pyocins mostly kill closely related species. Pyocins are currently classed into three broad categories: the S-type protease-sensitive pyocins, similar in size and mode of action to colicins of Escherichia coli, and the R and F-type protease-resistant pyocins that resemble bacteriophage tails. This chapter provides an overview of the pyocin types and their possible applications as the next generation of antimicrobials for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infections read more ...
