Antibacterials - Penicillins Flashcards
Gram positive bacteria stain
dark purple
Gram negative bacteria stain
light pink
Gram+ and Gram- bacteria differ in the structure of their _____ (general)
cell walls
What is the difference between Gram+ and Gram- bacteria in terms of drug penetration?
In gram+, drugs can penetrate the outer layers of the cell wall effectively and the bacterial membrane is the main barrier keeping drugs out of the cell
In gram-, the outer membrane excludes drugs, but some drugs can still get in through the porins in the outer membrane
What is the difference between Gram+ and Gram- bacteria in terms of beta lactamases?
In gram+, b-lactamases are excreted through the cell wall to the external environment. Therefore, they have to produce them in greater quantities.
In gram-, b-lactamases are confied to the periplasmic space
What is the difference between the peptidoglycan layer in gram+ vs gram- bacteria?
In gram+ bacteria, the peptidoglycan layer is much thicker than in gram-
What is the difference in membranes in gram+ vs gram- bacteria?
Gram+ have one membrane while gram- have two membranes (and inner and outer). Gram- bacteria therefore have a more complex cell wall that is more lipoidal.
What kind of residues are seen in the peptidoglycan layers of gram+ and gram- bacteria?
Gram- peptidoglycan layer contains a meso-diaminopimelic acid reside (DAP)
Gram+ peptidoglycan have an L-lysine residuce (the COOH of DAP is replaced by an H)
What is the difference in cross-linking b/t the gram+ and gram- cell peptidoglycan layer?
Gram- peptidoglycan is cross-linked by a bridge between the DAP residue of one strand and the terminal D-Ala of another
Gram+, the bridge exists b/t L-lys and the terminal D-ala of the second molecule
Cross link varies b/t species, but is typically ~5 amino acids
What cross-linked the peptidoglycan strands?
transpeptidase
What do B-lactam antibiotics do?
How?
Inhibit the transpeptidases that “glue” the peptidoglycan strands together
B-lactam antibiotics acylate the transpeptidase Ser residue in the enzyme active site to form a stable product. This inactivates the enzyme, inhibiting peptidoglycan cross-linking, which results in defective bacterial wall synthesis
The reactivity of the B-lactam system is due to …
- Ring strain (highly strained 4 member ring in which the bond angle is compressed to 90deg from the normal 120deg)
- Steric inhibition (stersoelectronics are not right to stabilize the carbonyl)
What explains the heterogeneisity of response to different penicillins?
That there are many penicillin-binding proteins which differ from species to species
The bacterial transpeptidases do not catalyze the reactions with host cell proteins because …
the bacterial substrate contains unnatural D-Ala amino acid residues that are not found in the host cell proteins
Resistance to B-Lactam antibiotics may result from …
- Decreased cellular uptake of the drug
- Mutation of the penicillin-binding proteins to decrease their affinity for penicillins
- Presence of an efflux pump that pumps antibiotics out of the cell