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Membrane Proteins as a Regulator for Antibiotic Persistence in Gram-Negative Bacteria

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Abstract

Antibiotic treatment failure threatens our ability to control bacterial infections that can cause chronic diseases. Persister bacteria are a subpopulation of physiological variants that becomes highly tolerant to antibiotics. Membrane proteins play crucial roles in all living organisms to regulate cellular physiology. Although a diverse membrane component involved in persistence can result in antibiotic treatment failure, the regulations of antibiotic persistence by membrane proteins has not been fully understood. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in our understanding with regards to membrane proteins in Gram-negative bacteria as a regulator for antibiotic persistence, highlighting various physiological mechanisms in bacteria.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Shu-Sin Chng for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by the New Faculty Startup Fund from Seoul National University to J.Y. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation Korea Basic Science Research Programs (2021R1C1C1005184, 2020M3A9H5104237 and 2020R1A5A1019023 to J.Y.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, 169857, Singapore

    Jia Xin Yee & Jinki Yeom

  2. School of Life Science, BK21 FOUR KNU Creative BioResearch Group, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, Republic of Korea

    Juhyun Kim

  3. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea

    Jinki Yeom

  4. Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea

    Jinki Yeom

  5. Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea

    Jinki Yeom

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Yee, J.X., Kim, J. & Yeom, J. Membrane Proteins as a Regulator for Antibiotic Persistence in Gram-Negative Bacteria. J Microbiol. 61, 331–341 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-023-00024-w

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