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Review

In Vitro Studies of Persister Cells

Niilo Kaldalu, Vasili Hauryliuk, Kathryn Jane Turnbull, Agnese La Mensa, Marta Putrinš, Tanel Tenson
Niilo Kaldalu
aInstitute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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Vasili Hauryliuk
aInstitute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
bDepartment of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
cLaboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
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Kathryn Jane Turnbull
bDepartment of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
cLaboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
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Agnese La Mensa
aInstitute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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Marta Putrinš
aInstitute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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Tanel Tenson
aInstitute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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DOI: 10.1128/MMBR.00070-20
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SUMMARY

Many bacterial pathogens can permanently colonize their host and establish either chronic or recurrent infections that the immune system and antimicrobial therapies fail to eradicate. Antibiotic persisters (persister cells) are believed to be among the factors that make these infections challenging. Persisters are subpopulations of bacteria which survive treatment with bactericidal antibiotics in otherwise antibiotic-sensitive cultures and were extensively studied in a hope to discover the mechanisms that cause treatment failures in chronically infected patients; however, most of these studies were conducted in the test tube. Research into antibiotic persistence has uncovered large intrapopulation heterogeneity of bacterial growth and regrowth but has not identified essential, dedicated molecular mechanisms of antibiotic persistence. Diverse factors and stresses that inhibit bacterial growth reduce killing of the bulk population and may also increase the persister subpopulation, implying that an array of mechanisms are present. Hopefully, further studies under conditions that simulate the key aspects of persistent infections will lead to identifying target mechanisms for effective therapeutic solutions.

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In Vitro Studies of Persister Cells
Niilo Kaldalu, Vasili Hauryliuk, Kathryn Jane Turnbull, Agnese La Mensa, Marta Putrinš, Tanel Tenson
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews Nov 2020, 84 (4) e00070-20; DOI: 10.1128/MMBR.00070-20

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In Vitro Studies of Persister Cells
Niilo Kaldalu, Vasili Hauryliuk, Kathryn Jane Turnbull, Agnese La Mensa, Marta Putrinš, Tanel Tenson
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews Nov 2020, 84 (4) e00070-20; DOI: 10.1128/MMBR.00070-20
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  • Top
  • Article
    • SUMMARY
    • INTRODUCTION
    • DEFINING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE, TOLERANCE, AND PERSISTENCE
    • ESSENTIALS OF PERSISTER CELLS
    • THE DISCOVERY OF PERSISTERS
    • THE TRANSIENT NONGROWING STATE OF PERSISTERS
    • PERSISTENCE AND HETERORESISTANCE
    • STRESS-TRIGGERED AND SPONTANEOUS PERSISTENCE
    • DORMANCY AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF PERSISTERS
    • THE SEARCH FOR MECHANISMS OF PERSISTENCE LEADS TO hip MUTANTS
    • THE hip ALLELE IS A MUTANT TOXIN-ANTITOXIN SYSTEM
    • THE ROLE OF TOXIN-ANTITOXIN MODULES IN PERSISTENCE
    • (p)ppGpp SIGNALING AND PERSISTENCE
    • PERSISTENCE WITHOUT A DEDICATED MECHANISM?
    • DRUGS AND STRATEGIES AGAINST PERSISTERS
    • CONCLUSIONS AND PERSPECTIVES
    • APPENDIX
    • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    • REFERENCES
    • Author Bios
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

KEYWORDS

antibiotic resistance
antimicrobial agents
persistence

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