Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Pathogenicity, Drug Resistance Mechanisms and Interaction with the Host

Dear Colleagues,

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that infects patients with cystic fibrosis, burn wounds, immunodeficiency, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), cancer, and severe infections requiring ventilation, such as COVID-19. P. aeruginosa is also a model bacterium widely used in all biological areas.

In addition to continued, intense efforts to understand the bacterial pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa, including virulence factors (LPS, quorum sensing, two-component systems, six-type secretion systems, outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), CRISPR-Cas and their regulation, etc.), rapid progress has been made in terms of further studying host–pathogen interaction, particularly host immune networks involving autophagy, inflammasome, non-coding RNAs, cGAS, etc. Furthermore, numerous technologic advances, such as bioinformatics, metabolomics, scRNA-seq, nanoparticles, drug screening, and phage therapy, have been used to improve our understanding of P. aeruginosa pathogenesis and host defense.

Nevertheless, much information remains to be uncovered about the interactions between P. aeruginosa and host immune responses, including the mechanisms of drug resistance by known or unannotated bacterial virulence factors, as well as mammalian cell signaling pathways. The widespread use of antibiotics and the slow development of effective antimicrobials present daunting challenges and necessitate new theoretical and practical platforms to screen and develop mechanism-tested novel drugs to treat intractable infections, especially those caused by multi-drug resistance strains. We have benefited from advancements in research tools and technology, as dissecting this pathogen’s features has led to novel molecular and mechanistic insights, as well as improved dynamic and holistic perspectives on these strains. 

Understanding its pathogenicity, drug resistance mechanisms, and interaction with its host is crucial for developing effective strategies to combat P. aeruginosa infections and mitigate their impacts on human health.

Prof. Dr. Haihua Liang
Guest Editor

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