RESUMO
Pseudomonas aeruginosa requires a significant breach in the host defense to cause an infection. While its virulence factors are well studied, its tropism cannot be explained only by studying its interaction with the host. Why are P. aeruginosa infections so rare in the intestine compared with the lung and skin? There is not enough evidence to claim specificity in virulence factors deployed by P. aeruginosa in each anatomical site, and host physiology differences between the lung and the intestine cannot easily explain the observed differences in virulence. This perspective highlights a relatively overlooked parameter in P. aeruginosa virulence, namely, potential synergies with bacteria found in the human skin and lung, as well as antagonisms with bacteria of the human intestine.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is human bacterial pathogen that requires a significant weakness in the body's defenses to trigger an infection. The reasons for its preference in targeting certain body parts (e.g., the lungs and skin) over others (e.g., the intestine) remain unclear. This article considers why P. aeruginosa infections are less common in the intestine. We suggest that the differences in host physiology alone cannot explain this difference and that the synergy of P. aeruginosa with other bacteria that live on the skin and in the lungs, and its antagonism with other bacteria in the intestine, play a role in its infection patterns. In essence, bacterial interactions can shed light to our understanding P. aeruginosa's ability to cause infection.