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Sordarin— An anti‐fungal antibiotic with a unique modus operandi
Author(s) -
Shao Yutian,
Molestak Eliza,
Su Weike,
Stankevič Marek,
Tchórzewski Marek
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
british journal of pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.432
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1476-5381
pISSN - 0007-1188
DOI - 10.1111/bph.15724
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , antibiotics , biology
Fungal infections cause serious problems in many aspects of human life, in particular infections in immunocompromised patients present serious problems. Current anti‐fungal antibiotics target various metabolic pathways, predominantly the cell wall or cellular membrane metabolism. Numerous compounds are available to combat fungal infections, but their efficacy is far from satisfactory and some of them display high toxicity. The emerging antibiotic resistance represents a serious issue as well. Hence, there is a considerable need for new anti‐fungal compounds with lower toxicity and higher effectiveness. One of the unique anti‐fungal antibiotics is sordarin, the only known compound that acts on the fungal translational machinery per se. Sordarin inhibits protein synthesis at the elongation step of the translational cycle, acting on eukaryotic translation elongation factor 2. In this review, we deliver a robust scientific platform promoting the development of anti‐fungal compounds, in particular focusing on the molecular action of sordarin.