Antibiotics bacterial nucleic acid synthesis

Bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics. There are many antibiotics available, but they fall into three major groups based on their mode of action inhibitors of bacterial nucleic acid synthesis inhibitors of cell wall synthesis and inhibition of bacterial protein synthesis. Resistance of bacteria to commonly-used antibiotics has become a major problem necessitating the development of new antibiotics. Tuberculosis infection is difficult to treat and requires a combination of at least three different antibiotics. 

The glycoside/aminoglycoside antibiotics, like the macrolides, exert a bacteriostatic effect due to selective inhibition of bacterial protein synthesis, with the exception of novobiocin (26). The compounds neomycin (27), spectinomycin (28) and streptomycin (29) bind selectively to the smaller bacterial 30S ribosomal subunit, whilst lincomycin (30) binds to the larger 50S ribosomal subunit (cf. macrolides). Apramycin (31) has ribosomal binding properties, but the exact site is uncertain (B-81MI10802). Novobiocin (26) can inhibit nucleic acid synthesis, and also complexes magnesium ion, which is essential for cell wall stability. 

Reviews - Relevant reviews have appeared in the last few years on the subject dealing specifically with the mechanism of action of different antimicrobial drugs and antibiotics inhibitors of the bacterial ribosome i inhibitors of protein and nucleic acid synthesis and inhibitors as tools in cell research. ... 

Unfortunately, there are few pure examples of true selective toxicity. Perhaps the best is penicillin. The therapeutic specificity of this antibiotic is based upon the qualitative difference between bacterial cell wall synthesis and mammalian cell membrane synthesis. Synthesis of the former can be inhibited by penicillin while the latter is unaffected. Thus, penicillin is one of the few examples of a drug that can actually cure an illness. A similar example involves the sulfa drugs, which interfere with the synthesis of folic acid, used in nucleic acid formation, in bacteria. While bacteria must synthesize their own folic acid, mammalian cells utilize dietary, preformed folic acid and are not susceptible to interference with its formation. 

It is now 25 years since specific inhibition of protein synthesis by antimicrobial agents was first reported. Specific inhibitory effects on bacterial protein synthesis by chloramphenicol and chlortetracycline, at their minimal growth inhibitory concentrations, were first described by Gale and Paine. - At those concentrations the antibiotics did not affect respiration, fermentation and amino acid accumulation but caused an immediate cessation of protein synthesis and an increase in the rate of nucleic acid accumulation in bacteria. ... 

---