Bacterial Multidrug Efflux Pumps at the Frontline of Antimicrobial Resistance: An Overview
Lulu Huang,
Cuirong Wu,
Haijiao Gao,
Chao Xu,
Menghong Dai,
Lingli Huang,
Haihong Hao,
Xu Wang,
Guyue Cheng
Affiliations
Lulu Huang
Ministry of Agriculture Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Cuirong Wu
Ministry of Agriculture Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Haijiao Gao
Ministry of Agriculture Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Chao Xu
Ministry of Agriculture Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Menghong Dai
Ministry of Agriculture Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Lingli Huang
Ministry of Agriculture Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Haihong Hao
Ministry of Agriculture Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Xu Wang
Ministry of Agriculture Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Guyue Cheng
Ministry of Agriculture Laboratory for Risk Assessment of Quality and Safety of Livestock and Poultry Products, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Multidrug efflux pumps function at the frontline to protect bacteria against antimicrobials by decreasing the intracellular concentration of drugs. This protective barrier consists of a series of transporter proteins, which are located in the bacterial cell membrane and periplasm and remove diverse extraneous substrates, including antimicrobials, organic solvents, toxic heavy metals, etc., from bacterial cells. This review systematically and comprehensively summarizes the functions of multiple efflux pumps families and discusses their potential applications. The biological functions of efflux pumps including their promotion of multidrug resistance, biofilm formation, quorum sensing, and survival and pathogenicity of bacteria are elucidated. The potential applications of efflux pump-related genes/proteins for the detection of antibiotic residues and antimicrobial resistance are also analyzed. Last but not least, efflux pump inhibitors, especially those of plant origin, are discussed.
