Abstract
The threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is increasing worldwide.
Bacteria utilize persistence and resistance to survive
antibiotic stress. For a long time, persistence has been studied
only under laboratory conditions. Hence, studies of bacterial
persistence are limited. Recently, however, the high incidence
of infection relapses caused by persister cells in immunocompromised
patients has emphasized the importance of persister
research. Furthermore, persister pathogens are one of
the causes of chronic infectious diseases, leading to the overuse
of antibiotics and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant
bacteria. Therefore, understanding the precise mechanism of
persister formation is important for continued use of available
antibiotics. In this review, we aimed to provide an overview
of the persister studies published to date and the current
knowledge of persister formation mechanisms. Recent
studies of the features and mechanisms of persister formation
are analyzed from the perspective of the nature of the
persister cell.
Citations
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