antibiotics Flashcards
Examples of antimicrobial agents
- Quinine for malaria
○ Used since 1600s
○ Malaria parasite now become resistant- Mercury for syphilis
It worked but was banned because it is highly toxic for hosts
- Mercury for syphilis
What happened to reduce burden of infectious diseases
- Antibiotics - treat
- Vaccines - treat
- Improvement in sanitation - the most important
Prevent
antibiotic definition
any substance produced by a microorganism that is antagonistic to the growth of other microorganisms in high dilution
General properties of antimicrobial agent
Selective toxicity
- Antimicrobial Agenets needs to target biochemical process that occurs in the pathogen, but preferably not the host
- E.g. penicillin targets the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan in bacterial cell walls
○ No peptidoglycan biosynthesis pathway in mammalian cells
Therefore Penicillin doe not affect host cells
narrow spectrum
Effective only against a limited number of bacteria
broad spectrum
Effective only against a many different types of bacteria
Natural products
○ Fermentation of fungi or bacteria to produce these agents
E.g. penicillin, polyenes, aminoglycosides
Semisynthetic products
○ Chemically modified derivatives of natural products
E.g. b- lactams, cephalosporins
Synthetic products
○ Completely chemically synthesised
E.g. oxazolidinones quinolones
Bacteriostatic agents
○ Stop bacterial growth, not kill
Allow host defences to overcome infection
Bactericidal agents
Kill targeted bacterial agents
Effect of Antimicrobial Agents on target bacteria
Antimicrobials may be bactericidal for one organism and bacteriostatic for another
Antimicrobial targets
- Macromolecules (mostly enzymes) that are unique to the microbial cell or divergent from human
- Metabolic processes that can be bypassed in humans but not in pathogens
○ E.g. Folate incorporation from dietary sources
§ Necessary for pathogens can be turned off
Normal activity of the target must be limiting for microbial replication or virulence
- Metabolic processes that can be bypassed in humans but not in pathogens
Inhibitors of cell wall biosynthesis
- Peptidoglycan
○ Key structural component of bacterial cell walls
○ Synthesis is complicated process to produce
§ Basic monomer
§ Extend into chains
Crosslink the chains into mesh-like structure
Targeting penicillin- binding proteins (PBPs)
- PBPs play multiple roles in cell wall synthesis and maintenance of peptidoglycan
○ Translgycosylation (wall synthesis for growth and septation)
○ Transpeptidation (crosslinking and remodelling)
○ Peptide cleavage ( control of crosslinking, insertion of new strands)- Critical part of process is recognition of the D-ala-D-ala sequence of the MurNac-GlcNac pentapeptide
- Interfering with this recognition disrupts the cell wall synthesis
- PBPs are major antibacterial targets
- The b-lactam ring mimics the structure of the D-Ala-D-Ala link and bind to the same place in the PBPs (the active site), disrupting the crosslinking process
b-lactams inactivate PBPs.
B-lactam antibiotics
- B-lactams inactivate PBP by binding to active site, blocking access for the natural substrate
- B-lactams have varied affinities for different PBPs and different effects
- Bacteriocidal
- Resistance through production of
○ PBP mutations
○ b-lactamases - Broad spectrum
Oral delivery
Mode of action for b-lactam antibiotics
- New peptidoglycan material is inserted into old wall at specific points
- Blocked peptidoglycan crosslinking induces futile cycle of turnover and deregulates activities = burst
○ Elongated –> bulge formation –> lysis (bursts open)
Under-crosslinked PG provides less support against turgor or osmotic pressure
- Blocked peptidoglycan crosslinking induces futile cycle of turnover and deregulates activities = burst
Glycopeptide antibiotics
- Vancomycin
- The drug will bind to D-ala-D-ala dipeptide
○ Inhibiting Translgycosylation and transpeptidation - Bactericidal
- Gram+ve (due to permeability)
Most used in infections b-lactam resistant gram+ves
- The drug will bind to D-ala-D-ala dipeptide