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Biological and clinical significance of quorum sensing alkylquinolones: current analytical and bioanalytical methods for their quantification

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry volume 413, pages 4599–4618 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Quorum sensing (QS) is a sophisticated bacterial communication system which plays a key role in the virulence and biofilm formation of many pathogens. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa QS network consists of four sets of connected systems (las, rlh, pqs and iqs) hierarchically organized. The pqs system involves characteristic autoinducers (AI), most of them sharing an alkylquinolone (AQ) structure, and is able to carry out several relevant biological functions besides its main signalling activity. Their role in bacterial physiology and pathogenicity has been widely studied. Indeed, the presence of these metabolites in several body fluids and infected tissues has pointed to their potential value as biomarkers of infection. In this review, we summarize the most recent findings about the biological implications and the clinical significance of the main P. aeruginosa AQs. These findings have encouraged the development of analytical and bioanalytical techniques addressed to assess the role of these metabolites in bacterial growth and survival, during pathogenesis or as biomarkers of infections. The availability of highly sensitive reliable analytical methods suitable for clinical analysis would allow getting knowledge about pathogenesis and disease prognosis or progression, supporting clinicians on the decision-making process for the management of these infections and guiding them on the application of more effective and appropriate treatments. The benefits from the implementation of the point-of-care (PoC)–type testing in infectious disease diagnostics, which are seen to improve patient outcomes by promoting earlier therapeutic interventions, are also discussed.

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Funding

This work has been funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2015-67476-R and RTI2018-096278-B-C21) and Fundación Marató de TV3 (TV32018-201825-30-31). The Nb4D group is a consolidated research group (Grup de Recerca) of the Generalitat de Catalunya and has support from the Departament d’Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya (expedient: 2017 SGR 1441). CIBER-BBN is an initiative funded by the Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013–2016, Iniciativa Ingenio 2010, Consolider Program; CIBER Actions are financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund. Enrique-J. Montagut wishes to thank the FPI fellowship (BES-2016-076496) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

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  1. Nanbiotechnology for Diagnostics (Nb4D), Department of of Surfactants and Nanobiotechnology, Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC) of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Enrique J. Montagut & M. Pilar Marco

  2. CIBER de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Enrique J. Montagut & M. Pilar Marco

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  1. Enrique J. Montagut
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  2. M. Pilar Marco
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Correspondence to M. Pilar Marco.

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Published in the topical collection Analytical Chemistry for Infectious Disease Detection and Prevention with guest editors Chaoyong Yang and XiuJun (James) Li.

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Montagut, E.J., Marco, M.P. Biological and clinical significance of quorum sensing alkylquinolones: current analytical and bioanalytical methods for their quantification. Anal Bioanal Chem 413, 4599–4618 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03356-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03356-x

Keywords

  • Alkylquinolones
  • Quorum sensing
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • Quantification
  • Detection
  • Diagnostic