Drug Resistance of P. aeruginosa
Introduction
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a type of bacterium that has the ability to develop resistance to antibiotics rather rapidly over several generations. This resistance present in some strains makes P. aeruginosa very difficult to treat once a host, such as a human or other animal, is infected. Adding to its ability to develop drug resistance is its resilience that allows it to thrive in various environments, especially medical environments and moist environments containing water. It is commonly a hospital-acquired infection; though there is a distinction between its colonization and its infection.1 It is gram-negative, rod shaped, and aerobic. Additionally it has the ability to catalyze numerous organic molecules and mutate to adapt to its environmental nutritional conditions.
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Legend/credit: Electron micrograph of the Ebola Zaire virus. This was the first photo ever taken of the virus, on 10/13/1976. By Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, then at the CDC.
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Infection
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen, meaning that in order to infect its host it takes advantage of any weakness in the host’s defenses. It can infect plants or animals, including humans. Although it is a normal bacterium that exists on human skin without causing harm, it becomes damaging when the immune system is compromised or an open wound or burn facilitates its entrance to the body. The most serious infections of P. aeruginosa occur in deep tissues such as blood or bone, in patients with compromised immune systems or cystic fibrosis. It is naturally resistant to common antibiotics due to chromosomally encoded genes.1 Furthermore, it has specific characteristics that contribute to its virulence, including flagella to promote motility, pili to attach to tissue surfaces, and lipopolysaccharide to act as an endotoxin.
It can grow on minimal media, requires little extra source of nutrition, thus enhancing its survival in environments that would otherwise not promote extensive bacterial growth. In clinical environments especially it can proliferate on surfaces and has become a major cause of nosocomial infections. When P. aeruginosa replicates enough, it forms a biofilm that attaches to a surface and is difficult to destroy. Infection occurs when P. aeruginosa adheres to a tissue surface and then reproduces to the point of having a mass capable of infection, and finally damages the tissue through the toxins it produces. Virulent factors, such as exotoxin A, work to colonize the host cell by inhibiting protein synthesis and attacking the structural proteins of the cell.
Treatment
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Conclusion
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References
Edited by [Elizabeth Eder], student of Joan Slonczewski for BIOL 116 Information in Living Systems, 2013, Kenyon College.
