Bacterial cell division as a target for new antibiotics.

Bacterial cell division as a target for new antibiotics. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2013 Aug 8; Authors: Sass P, Brötz-Oesterhelt H Abstract Bacterial resistance to currently applied antibiotics complicates the treatment of infections and demands the evaluation of new strategies to counteract multidrug-resistant bacteria. In recent years, the inhibition of the bacterial divisome, mainly by targeting the central cell division mediator FtsZ, has been recognized as a promising strategy for antibiotic attack. New antibiotics were shown to either interfere with the natural dynamics and functions of FtsZ during the cell cycle or to activate a bacterial protease to degrade FtsZ and thus bring about bacterial death in a suicidal manner. Their efficacy in animal models of infection together with resistance-breaking properties prove the potential of such drugs and validate the inhibition of bacterial cell division as an attractive approach for antibiotic intervention. PMID: 23932516 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Microbiol Source Type: research