Biosynthesis cell wall, fungal

Mechanism of Action An imidazole derivative that changes the permeability of the fungal cell wall. TherapeuticEffect Inhibits fungal biosynthesis of triglycerides, phospholipids. Fungistatic. 

Polyoxins are inhibitors of chitin biosynthesis. Chitin is a component of fungal cell walls except in Phycomycete fungi these contain cellulose as their major cell wall constituent, hence polyoxins are inactive against Plasmopara, Pythium and Phytophthora. 

A common feature of all products from the azole class is that their fungicidal activity is due to interference with the biosynthesis of fungal steroids, which are essential for cell wall construction in many of these organisms. The interference in ergosterol biosynthesis can occur at one or more points in the biosynthetic pathway depending on the nature of the azole. 

Another strategy employed was the rather classical concept of selective toxicity. Although both fungal and mammalian cells are eukaryotes, there are differences in structure and metabolism. We focused our interest on the biosynthesis of the cell wall, which is absent in mammalian cells. 

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