Teichoic acid biosynthesis as an antibiotic target.

Teichoic acid biosynthesis as an antibiotic target. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2013 Jul 31; Authors: Pasquina LW, Santa Maria JP, Walker S Abstract The relentless spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens makes it imperative to develop new chemotherapeutic strategies to overcome infection. The bacterial cell wall has served as a rich source for both validated and unexploited pathways that are essential for virulence and survival. Lipoteichoic acids (LTAs) and wall teichoic acids (WTAs) are cell wall polymers that play fundamental roles in Gram-positive bacterial physiology and pathogenesis, and both have been proposed as novel antibacterial targets. Here we describe recent progress toward the discovery of teichoic acid biosynthesis inhibitors and their potential as antibiotics to combat Staphylococcus aureus infections. PMID: 23916223 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Microbiol Source Type: research