Part 1: Antimicrobial Agents Flashcards
what is the overall goal of antimicrobial therapies?
to kill infectious organisms while sparing beneficial or symbiotic micro-organisms and host tissues
most infectious microorganisms are ____ (prokaryotic or eukaryotes)
prokaryotic
what is the benefit of most microorganisms having different cellular features and processes than our own cells?
makes it easier to target just the infection when taking an antimicrobial
why can cell wall inhibitors like penicillin be given at such high doses?
our host cells do not have cell walls
give an example of a metabolic pathway that drugs can target more effectively in microorganisms than in our host cells
folic acid pathway
t/f at high doses, antimicrobials that target folate metabolism may also interfere with host cell metabolism, but the dose needs to be very high
true
which microorganisms are the toughest to target?
viruses
why are viruses so challenging to target?
they enter host cells and use the host cell components to replicate
briefly describe the process of a virus entering a host cell, replicating and releasing
- virus attaches and enters host cell in endosome
- genetic material released into cytoplasm where it is replicated
- components of new viral particles are packed and released into circulation to infect new host cells
t/f some viruses do enough damage to a host cell during their infection/replication process that the host cell dies
t
aside from the virus, what else can cause a lot of tissue damage during viral infection?
host immune system response
what activates the immune system in a viral infection?
host cells displaying the viral antigen
the few antiviral drugs that exist often target what processes?
entry into host, uncoating, viral genome replication and release of new viral particles
instead of cholesterol (our cells), what is found in the cell membrane of fungal cells?
ergosterol
what are the primary targets of anti fungal drugs?
fungal membrane integrity and ergosterol synthesis (cause fungal cells to rupture)
what are unique fungal specific transporter and enzyme used in the making of fungal proteins?
transporter: cytosine permease
enzyme: cytosine deaminase
what is the benefit of the cytosine permease transporter being found at high levels in fungal cells?
allows for drug accumulation in the fungal cell
the cytosine deaminase enzyme activates pro-drug into a ___ agents
cytotoxic
the most common antimicrobial therapies are against ____ type infections
bacteria
a major target for bacterial drug targeting is the ___ cell wall
peptidoglycan
cells with an outer membrane around their cell wall are classed as Gram ___
negative
gram negative have a ____ (thinner/thicker) peptidoglycan cell wall?
thinner
what colour is gram + stain?
purple
what colour is gram - stain?
red/pink
t/f the outer membrane of gram - cells makes drug permeation difficult
true
bacteria have __ and ___ ribosomal subunits and our cells have __ and ___ subunits
30s & 50s; 40s & 60s
several antibiotics bind specifically to different sites on bacterial ribosomes to disrupt ___
bacterial protein synthesis
what is the shape of bacterial DNA?
single circular strand
t/f bacterial DNA replication requires transcription machinery that is different from host
true
explain bacteriostatic and bactericidal drug treatment
- bacteriostatic: stalls bacterial growth and gives immune system a chance to catch up to clear the infection
- bactericidal: drug kills the bacteria and there is less reliance on the host immune system
antibacterial drugs are also called ___
antibiotics
when are bactericidal antibiotics preferred?
when the host immune system is impaired
give 4 examples of why an antimicrobial treatment may fail
- poor patient adherence
- poor pharmacokinetics
- dose too low
- microbe is not sensitive to the drug given
how might poor patient adherence lead to antimicrobial treatment failure?
if not taken as directed, the infection may not be adequately controlled and worsening or resurgence of infection is likely
how might poor pharmacokinetics impact treatment failure?
may not get to the site of action adequately enough