216596-71-3

Quorum sensing is a regulatory system used by bacteria for controlling gene expression in response to increasing cell density. This regulatory process manifests itself with a variety of phenotypes including biofilm formation and virulence factor production. Coordinated gene expression is achieved by the production, release, and detection of small diffusible signal molecules called autoinducers. The N-acylated homoserine lactones (AHLs) comprise one such class of autoinducers, each of which generally consists of a fatty acid coupled with homoserine lactone (HSL). Regulation of bacterial quorum sensing signaling systems to inhibit pathogenesis represents a new approach to antimicrobial therapy in the treatment of infectious diseases. AHLs vary in acyl group length (C₄-C₁₈), in the substitution of C3 (hydrogen, hydroxyl, or oxo group), and in the presence or absence of one or more carbon-carbon double bonds in the fatty acid chain. These differences confer signal specificity through the affinity of transcriptional regulators of the LuxR family. C₁₁-HSL possesses a rare odd-numbered acyl carbon chain and may be a minor quorum-sensing signaling molecule in P. aeruginosa strains.

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