A clash of quorum sensing vs quorum sensing inhibitors: an overview and risk of resistance

Indiscriminate use of antibiotics to treat microbial pathogens has caused emergence of multiple drug resistant strains. Most infectious diseases are caused by microbes that are capable of intercommunication using signaling molecules, which is known as quorum sensing (QS). Such pathogens express their pathogenicity through various QS-regulated virulence factors. Interference of QS could lead to decisive results in controlling such pathogenicity. Hence, QS inhibition has become an attractive new approach for the development of novel drugs. Many quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) of diverse origins have been reported. It is imperative that more such anti-QS compounds be found and studied, as they have significant effect on microbial pathogenicity. This review attempts to give a brief account of QS mechanism, its inhibition and describes some compounds with anti-QS potential. Also discussed is the possibility of emergence of quorum sensing resistance.

Automated summary

The indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of drug-resistant strains. Many infectious diseases are caused by microbes that can communicate through quorum sensing (QS), and interfering with QS can effectively control their pathogenicity. Inhibition of QS has become a promising approach for developing new drugs, and various quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) have been identified. This review provides an overview of the QS mechanism, QS inhibition, and compounds with anti-QS potential, as well as the possibility of quorum sensing resistance.