Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 6, 2025

High-throughput Screening of Chemical Compounds to Elucidate Their Effects on Bacterial Persistence
07:25

High-throughput Screening of Chemical Compounds to Elucidate Their Effects on Bacterial Persistence

Published on: February 23, 2021

4.4K

Treatment strategies targeting persister cell formation in bacterial pathogens

Fazlurrahman Khan1, Dung Thuy Nguyen Pham2, Nazia Tabassum3

  • 1Institute of Food Science, Pukyong National University, Busan, Korea.

Critical Reviews in Microbiology
|October 6, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Persister cells are dormant, antibiotic-tolerant bacteria that cause treatment failure. Understanding their formation and developing new strategies are crucial for combating chronic infections.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Drug Discovery

Background:

  • Persister cells are dormant, antibiotic-tolerant bacterial subpopulations.
  • They contribute to treatment failure in chronic and biofilm infections.
  • Their survival mechanisms pose a significant clinical challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive overview of persister cell biology.
  • To discuss the clinical significance of persister cells.
  • To review current and emerging therapeutic strategies against persister cells.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and synthesis of existing research on bacterial persisters.
  • Analysis of mechanisms underlying persister cell formation and tolerance.
  • Evaluation of identified anti-persister compounds and combination therapies.

Main Results:

  • Persister cells are key to antibiotic tolerance and treatment non-response.
  • Multiple compounds and combination strategies show promise against persisters.
  • Targeting persister formation is a viable therapeutic approach.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding persister cell formation is critical for developing effective treatments.
  • Combination therapies and novel anti-persister agents offer new hope.
  • Further research is needed to translate these findings into clinical practice.
Keywords:
Biofilmanti-persister agentschronic infectionspathogenic bacteriapersister cells

More Related Videos

Population and Single-Cell Analysis of Antibiotic Persistence in Escherichia coli12:29

Population and Single-Cell Analysis of Antibiotic Persistence in Escherichia coli

Published on: March 24, 2023

2.5K
Time-Lapse Epifluorescence Microscopy Imaging of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus Heterogeneous Phenotypes07:44

Time-Lapse Epifluorescence Microscopy Imaging of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus Heterogeneous Phenotypes

Published on: February 14, 2025

1.4K

Related Concept Videos

Defense Against Bacterial Pathogens01:31

Defense Against Bacterial Pathogens

The human immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body against bacterial infections. It consists of various immune cells, each playing a specific role in the defense mechanism.
Phagocytes
Phagocytes are the frontline soldiers of the immune system. They include neutrophils and macrophages. Neutrophils are the most abundant type of white blood cell and are quickly mobilized to the site of infection. Macrophages are larger cells that patrol...
2.4K
Treatment Resistant Cancers02:56

Treatment Resistant Cancers

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. A cancer cell is genetically unstable and hence can mutate faster. They can also modify their microenvironment and escape immune surveillance. The difficulties in treating cancer are further compounded by the emergence of rapid resistance to anticancer drugs. The most common ways to attain resistance in cancer cells include alteration in drug transport and metabolism, modification of drug target, elevated DNA damage response, or...
3.6K
Biological Methods for Microbial Control01:28

Biological Methods for Microbial Control

Biological agents offer an effective means of controlling microbial growth by leveraging natural processes like predation, competition, and the secretion of antimicrobial substances.Predatory bacteria such as Bdellovibrio species target and kill pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli. They are widely used in poultry farms to control infections. Myxococcus species help combat plant-pathogenic fungi. These naturally occurring predators serve as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides and...
670
Development of Antibiotic Resistance01:30

Development of Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern that arises when bacteria evolve mechanisms to withstand the effects of antibiotic treatments. This resistance can be intrinsic, acquired through genetic mutations, or transferred between bacteria via horizontal gene transfer. The development of antibiotic resistance poses significant challenges in treating bacterial infections and necessitates ongoing research to develop new therapeutic strategies.Intrinsic resistance occurs when bacterial...
889
Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing01:28

Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing

Quorum sensing is a mechanism of bacterial communication that enables coordinated gene expression in response to changes in population density. This facilitates collective behaviors that enhance survival, resource acquisition, and ecological adaptation. This process relies on small signaling molecules called autoinducers that accumulate as bacterial populations grow. When a critical threshold concentration of autoinducers is reached, bacterial cells collectively modify gene expression,...
320
Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages01:30

Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages

Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are specialized viruses that infect bacteria. A key characteristic of phages is their distinctive “head-tail” morphology. A phage begins the infection process (i.e., lytic cycle) by attaching to the outside of a bacterial cell. Attachment is accomplished via proteins in the phage tail that bind to specific receptor proteins on the outer surface of the bacterium. The tail injects the phage’s DNA genome into the bacterial cytoplasm. In the...
76.7K