New TB drug candidates developed from soil bacteria
The research partnership -- involving the University of Warwick , and spanning institutions from Australia, Canada and the USA -- has discovered a compound which could translate into a new drug lead for TB. The group looked at soil bacteria compounds, known to effectively prevent other bacteria growing around them. Using synthetic chemistry, the researchers were able to recreate these compounds with structural variations, turning them into more potent chemical analogues. When tested in a containment laboratory, these analogues proved to be effective killers of Mycobacterium tuberculosis -- the bacterium which causes TB. These chemicals target an enzyme in Mycobacterium tuberculosis called MraY, which catalyses a crucial step in building the cell wall around a bacterium. Attacking this part -- a potential 'Achilles' heel' of the bacterium -- provided an essential pathway for the antibacterial compounds to attack and destroy TB strains. Key reagents and expertise i...