Spleen Tyrosine Kinase as a Target Therapy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection

Spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) is a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase which associates directly with extracellular receptors, and is critically involved in signal transduction pathways in a variety of cell types for the regulation of cellular responses. SYK is expressed ubiquitously in immune and nonimmune cells, and has a much wider biological role than previously recognized. Several studies have highlighted SYK as a key player in the pathogenesis of a multitude of diseases. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic gram-negative pathogen, which is responsible for systemic infections in immunocompromised individuals, accounting for a major cause of severe chronic lung infection in cystic fibrosis patients and subsequently resulting in a progressive deterioration of lung function. Inhibition of SYK activity has been explored as a therapeutic option in several allergic disorders, autoimmune diseases, and hematological malignancies. This review focuses on SYK as a therapeutic target, and describes the possibility of how current knowledge could be translated for therapeutic purposes to regulate the immune response to the opportunistic pathogen P. aeruginosa.