WK 7- Antimicrobial drugs Flashcards
What is an antibiotic
natural substance from a micro-organism that is used to kill another organism→ used interchangeably with the word antimicrobials
What is an antimicrobial
term used for drugs used to treat microbes
What does broad spectrum mean
wide range of activity eg effective against a range of gram positive and gram negative bacteria
What does narrow spectrum mean
limited range of activity, target organism specific
What does bacteriocidal mean
kills bacteria
What does bacteriostatic mean
inhibits growth/replication of bacteria→ by stopping the bug replicating, the immune system can kill and eradicate the organism
What does empirical theory mean
therapy (antibiotics) are given without the exact pathogen of cause known→ leads to drugs being prescribed inappropriately→ used when treatment is required urgently→ guided by clinical presentation
What is directed therapy
used when the causative agent has been identified- based on causative organism and antimicrobial susceptibility
What is prophylactic therapy
used to prevent infection in clinical situations where there is significant risk of infection (ie. Malarial, surgical antibiotic prophylaxis)
What does selective toxicity mean
- toxic to invading microorganisms while having minimal adverse effects on host (targets specific aspects of bacterial cells that aid in survival/replication/growth)
- ie. target bacterial cell wall, as humans don’t have a cell wall they will not be affected
What are the 4 groups of antimicrobials that act to destroy microbes
- Agents that affect bacterial cell wall synthesis
- Agents that affect bacterial protein synthesis
- Agents that affect bacterial nucleic acid synthesis
- Agents that disrupt bacterial cell membrane function
What are some of the potential targets for selective toxicity of antimicrobial drugs
→pathways utilising energy to synthesise small molecules such as amino acids and nucleotides
→pathways that convert small molecules into macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids and peptidoglycan (cell wall)
What is the bacterial cell wall mainly composed of
peptidoglycan–> amino sugars with peptide side chain
What are the 2 main groups of antimicrobials that target the cell wall
- Beta lactams–> both penicillins and cephalosporins
- Glycopeptides
What are the 5 main drug groups used to attack bacterial protein synthesis (MACLT)
Macrolides, Aminoglycosides, Lincosamides, Chloramphenicol and Tetracyclines
What are the main drug groups that affect nucleic acid synthesis (FNQR)
Folate inhibitors (sulfenamides/trimethoprim), Nitroimidazoles, Quinolones, Rifamycins
What is the MOA of B-lactams
-how do they preferentially target bacteria
inhibit the final transpeptidation step by forming covalent bonds with penicillin-binding proteins, preventing formation of crosslinks→ inhibiting formation of crosslinks leads to inhibition of cell wall synthesis and causes cell death
-humans don’t have a cell wall to target
How do penicillins display resistance (most likely cause)
through production of β-lactamases
-these act to break down the B-lactam ring and prevent the action of the antimicrobial
How is resistance to penicillin combatted
through use of clavulonic acid–> this is an B lactamase inhibitor
What are the two types of B-lactam drugs
Penicillins and Cephalosporins
What are the indications for penicillin
infections caused by many Gram+ve bacteria or Gram -ve cocci
-spectrum of activity ranges; some narrow, some broad
What are the adverse effects of penicillin
well tolerated though can produce a hypersensitivity (allergy) reaction (presents as a rash or in severe cases anaphylaxis), can also cause diarrhoea (due to disruption of commensal flora)
Which type of beta lactam is less sensitive to beta lactamase
-cephalosporins
What are the indications for cephalosporins
activity against both gram –ve and gram +ve bacteria→ ranges from moderate to broad spectrum
What are the adverse effects of cephalosporins
same as penicillins→ those that are sensitive to penicillin are also likely to be allergic to cephalosporins
What is the MOA of glycopeptides
inhibit release of the PG building block unit from carrier, preventing addition to the growing peptidoglycan chain→ bactericidal action
What are the indications for use of glycopeptides
narrow spectrum, reserved for treatment of resistant infections (eg MRSA)
What are the adverse effects of glycopeptides
nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity (damage to hair cells in the cochlear causes hearing loss)
What ribosomal subunits are present in a prokaryote
-why does this aid in selective toxicity
50S and 30S
-human (eukaryotes) have 40S and 60S
What is the MOA of tetracyclines
inhibit bacterial protein synthesis by reversibly binding to 30S subunit of the ribosome
→prevents the amino-acyl tRNA from binding to the A site→ bacteriostatic action
What are the indications for tetracyclines
broad spectrum against Gram+ve and Gram-ve bacteria, eg chlamydia, rickettsia, mycoplasma, spirochaetes, some mycobacteria protozoa→ can also be used as malaria prophylaxis