Open AccessInhibition by Ethambutol of Mycolic Acid Transfer into the Cell Wall of Mycobacterium smegmatis
Author(s) -
K. Takayama,
Emma Lee Armstrong,
Keith A. Kunugi,
James O. Kilburn
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.07
H-Index - 259
eISSN - 1070-6283
pISSN - 0066-4804
DOI - 10.1128/aac.16.2.240
Subject(s) - mycobacterium smegmatis , trehalose , ethambutol , mycolic acid , cell wall , mycobacterium , antimycobacterial , microbiology and biotechnology , mycobacterium tuberculosis , biochemistry , chemistry , biology , bacteria , antibiotics , rifampicin , tuberculosis , medicine , genetics , pathology
Ethambutol simultaneously inhibited the transfer (presumably via mycolyl acetyl trehalose) of mycolic acids into the cell wall and stimulated the synthesis of trehalose dimycolates ofMycobacterium smegmatis . Structural similarities of the drug and mycolyl acetyl trehalose suggested that competitive inhibition was involved.