24 January 2024 | Mahendrarajan Venkatramanan and Easwaran Nalini
Chromobacterium violaceum is a Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic bacterium that can cause severe infections, including septicemia and organ-specific infections, leading to high mortality rates. The bacterium produces violacein, a hydrophobic bisindole pigment, which is delivered through outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) to kill competing bacteria. Quorum sensing, mediated by the *cviI/CviR* system, regulates various virulence factors such as biofilm formation and violacein biosynthesis. The bacterial type 3 secretion system (T3SS) is another virulence factor, with two types (Cpi-1 and Cpi-2), which can activate the NLRC4 inflammasome in hosts, leading to pyroptosis and cytotoxicity. This paper discusses the interplay between quorum sensing-controlled biofilm formation, violacein production, OMV delivery, T3SS effector protein production, and host-mediated immune responses. It suggests that natural bioactive molecules like palmitic acid can act as anti-quorum agents by reducing virulence factor expression and as immunomodulators by enhancing NLRC4 inflammasome activity, thereby providing a dual therapeutic strategy against C. violaceum infections.Chromobacterium violaceum is a Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic bacterium that can cause severe infections, including septicemia and organ-specific infections, leading to high mortality rates. The bacterium produces violacein, a hydrophobic bisindole pigment, which is delivered through outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) to kill competing bacteria. Quorum sensing, mediated by the *cviI/CviR* system, regulates various virulence factors such as biofilm formation and violacein biosynthesis. The bacterial type 3 secretion system (T3SS) is another virulence factor, with two types (Cpi-1 and Cpi-2), which can activate the NLRC4 inflammasome in hosts, leading to pyroptosis and cytotoxicity. This paper discusses the interplay between quorum sensing-controlled biofilm formation, violacein production, OMV delivery, T3SS effector protein production, and host-mediated immune responses. It suggests that natural bioactive molecules like palmitic acid can act as anti-quorum agents by reducing virulence factor expression and as immunomodulators by enhancing NLRC4 inflammasome activity, thereby providing a dual therapeutic strategy against C. violaceum infections.