Loading...
In contrast to most bacterial pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a slow-growing organism with a propensity for latency, which means that patients with this infection require treatment with multiple drugs for many months. To remain healthy, every cell, including single-cell organisms, requires proper levels of each protein that it produces. This fact means that a balance must exist between synthesis and degradation of proteins. Many antibacterials target synthesis of bacterial proteins, but none inhibit degradation of proteins. Unlike other bacteria, mycobacteria have proteasomes — a key site of protein degradation — and might be susceptible to inhibitory agents.
A multi-institutional team has identified a class of compounds that inhibi…