Stress Relief during Host Infection: The Phage Shock Protein Response Supports Bacterial Virulence in Various Ways

Inducible extracytoplasmic stress responses (ESRs) help to maintain the integrity and function of the bacterial cell envelope in unfavorable conditions.ESRs can also have highly specialized functions linked to virulence-associated systems directly.One of the most intriguing and yet enigmatic examples is the widely conserved phage shock protein (Psp) response [1][2][3][4].This article outlines the significance of envelope stress and the roles of the Psp response in supporting bacterial virulence.This particular ESR might be critical for different reasons in different bacteria, with implications for both extracellular and intracellular pathogenesis, as well as processes that include antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation.