Recent advances in therapeutic targets identification and development of treatment strategies towards Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections

The opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the causal agent of a wide variety of infections. This non-fermentative Gram-negative bacillus can colonize zones where the skin barrier is weakened, such as wounds or burns. It also causes infections of the urinary tract, respiratory system or bloodstream. P. aeruginosa infections are common in hospitalized patients for which multidrug-resistant, respectively extensively drug-resistant isolates can be a strong contributor to a high rate of in-hospital mortality. Moreover, chronic respiratory system infections of cystic fibrosis patients are especially concerning, since very tedious to treat. P. aeruginosa exploits diverse cell-associated and secreted virulence factors, which play essential roles in its pathogenesis. Those factors encompass carbohydrate-binding proteins, quorum sensing that monitor the production of extracellular products, genes conferring extensive drug resistance, and a secretion system to deliver effectors to kill competitors or subvert host essential functions. In this article, we highlight recent advances in the understanding of P. aeruginosa pathogenicity and virulence as well as efforts for the identification of new drug targets and the development of new therapeutic strategies against P. aeruginosa infections. These recent advances provide innovative and promising strategies to circumvent infection caused by this important human pathogen.