Bacterial infections biosynthesis

P-Lactams. AH 3-lactams are chemically characterized by having a 3-lactam ring. Substmcture groups are the penicillins, cephalosporias, carbapenems, monobactams, nocardicias, and clavulanic acid. Commercially this family is the most important group of antibiotics used to control bacterial infections. The 3-lactams act by inhibition of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. 

P-lactam antibiotics, exert thek antibacterial effect by interfering with the synthesis of the bacterial cell wall. These antibiotics tend to be "kreversible" inhibitors of cell wall biosynthesis and they are usually bactericidal at concentrations close to thek bacteriostatic levels. Cephalospotins are widely used for treating bacterial infections. They are highly effective antibiotics and have low toxicity. 

T There are several distinct types of inhibitors of nucleotide biosynthesis, each type acting at different points in the pathways to purine or pyrimidine nucleotides. All these inhibitors are very toxic to cells, especially rapidly growing cells, such as those of tumors or bacteria, because interruption of the supply of nucleotides seriously limits the cell s capacity to synthesize the nucleic acids necessary for protein synthesis and cell replication. In some cases, the toxic effect of such inhibitors makes them useful in cancer chemotherapy or in the treatment of bacterial infections. However, some of these agents can also damage the rapidly replicating cells of the intestinal tract and bone marrow. This danger imposes limits on the doses that can be used safely. 

A large number of compounds in category 3 act at different sites in the pathways for purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis. These compounds are very toxic for rapidly growing tumors and bacteria, making them useful in cancer chemotherapy and treatment of bacterial infections. 6-Mercaptopurine is a potent inhibitor of purine biosynthesis, and 5-fluorouracil inhibits thymidylate synthesis. Some compounds, such as hydroxyurea and sulfonamides, inhibit the synthesis of both purine and pyrimidine nucleotides. These are only a few of the many compounds useful in treating cancer and infectious diseases (see Chapter 10). 

Bacteria synthesize lysine through one of three different pathways that are not present in mammals. " An intermediate in these pathways, wj ro-diaminopimelic acid (mDAP), is also an essential component of the bacterial cell wall. " " Consequently, the enzymes in these pathways are targets for the development of antibiotics for treatment of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial infections. The enzyme DapE catalyzes the hydrolysis of N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid to form L,L-diaminopimelic acid and succinate in the succinylase pathway of lysine biosynthesis (Figure 6(i)). 

Ceftin is a second-generation broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections resulting in Lyme s disease, bronchitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, otitis, skin infections, gonorrhea, and urinary tract infections, and it is considered the antibiotic of choice for otitis media. Ceftin functions by inhibiting bacteria cell wall biosynthesis. 

Ra agopalan et al. ( ) have demonstrated that administration of AuCl., a gold(IIiy complex, to rats results in increased levels of liver zinc metallothionein (the gold content of the cytosol fractions were not measured). However, gold(III) is much more toxic than gold(I)(D and the effect may be a non-specific stress induction of MT, similar to that produced by CC1-, bacterial infections, etc. (29-31) Although the distinction may seem to be semantic, the extent of MT-biosynthesis induced by cadmium versus gold and the consequences for the biochemistry of the metals are quantitatively and qualitatively different. 

Two sulfone-based nucleoside diphosphate isosters (71a,b) has been synthesised and reported by Gervay-Hague to be inhibitors of Neisseria meningitidis CMP-sialic acid synthetase, which is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of capsular polysaccharides required for bacterial infection. The synthetic methodology includes a condensation reaction of the nucleoside aldehydes with bisphosphonate Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reagents (Scheme 4). The deprotection sequence was crucial for the appropriate completion of the synthetic targets. 

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