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Chemical Reviews

So disease-causing bacteria in the body finally have multiplied to the point where their numbers are large enough to cause illness. What’s next? They get out their “smart phones� and whisper “Let’s roll!� That’s how an article in ACS� monthly Chemical Reviews describes the substances � “smart phones of the microbial world� � that bacteria use to transmit chemical signals that launch infections and monitor their environment. The authors describe progress toward understanding and blocking this biochemical chitchat, a development that could lead to new treatments for the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant infections.

Marvin Whiteley and Holly Huse point out that bacteria use chemical signals to communicate with each other. These signals can trigger infections when their numbers reach a certain threshold � a process known as “quorum sensing.� Scientists around the world are trying to find potential new drugs that garble or block those signals, and in doing so, fight infection. One prime target are the 4-quinolones, signaling molecules produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common disease-causing microbe.

Their review of more than 60 years of research on 4-quinolones found promising indications that such a conversation-stopper will be developed. Scientists, for instance, now have evidence that a certain enzyme that modifies 4-quinolones can reduce infection. “These results are encouraging for the development of new therapeutics that target 4-quinolone signaling,� the article noted.