Introduction: The emergence of multi- and pan-drug-resistant bacteria represents a global crisis that calls for the development of alternative anti-infective strategies. These comprise anti-virulence approaches, which target pathogenicity without exerting a bacteriostatic or bactericidal effect and are claimed to reduce the development of resistance. Because in many pathogens, quorum-sensing (QS) systems control the expression of virulence factors, interference with QS, or quorum-quenching, is often proposed as a strategy with a broad anti-virulence effect.Areas covered: We discuss the role and regulatory targets of QS control in selected Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, focusing on those with clinical importance and QS control of virulence. We present the components of QS systems that form possible targets for the development of anti-virulence drugs and discuss recent research on quorum-quenching approaches to control bacterial infection.Expert opinion: While there has been extensive research on QS systems and quorum-quenching approaches, there is a paucity of in-vivo research using adequate animal models to substantiate applicability. In-vivo research on QS blockers needs to be intensified and optimized to use clinically relevant setups, in order to underscore that such drugs can be used effectively to overcome problems associated with the treatment of severe infections by antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

中文翻译：

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治疗细菌感染的替代方法：针对群体感应。


简介：多重和泛耐药细菌的出现代表了一场全球危机，需要开发替代的抗感染策略。这些包括抗毒力方法，其针对致病性而不发挥抑菌或杀菌作用，并声称可以减少耐药性的发展。由于在许多病原体中，群体感应 (QS) 系统控制毒力因子的表达，因此干扰 QS 或群体淬灭通常被提出作为具有广泛抗毒力作用的策略。对选定的革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性细菌进行 QS 控制的监管目标，重点关注那些具有临床重要性和毒力的 QS 控制的细菌。我们介绍了 QS 系统的组成部分，这些组成部分构成了抗毒力药物开发的可能目标，并讨论了控制细菌感染的群体淬灭方法的最新研究。专家意见：虽然对 QS 系统和群体淬灭方法进行了广泛的研究，缺乏使用足够的动物模型来证实适用性的体内研究。需要加强和优化 QS 阻滞剂的体内研究，以使用临床相关的设置，以强调此类药物可以有效地用于克服与治疗抗生素耐药病原体严重感染相关的问题。