Structural study of anthrax yields new antibiotic target

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Anthrax attack. The anthrax UDP-GlcNAc 2-epimerase enzyme uses two binding sites (colored sections above) to interact with its substrate molecules. One of those sites isnt found in mammalian cells and presents an attractive target for drug design. Cr ...
Anthrax attack. The anthrax UDP-GlcNAc 2-epimerase enzyme uses two binding sites (colored sections, above) to interact with its substrate molecules. One of those sites isn’t found in mammalian cells, and presents an attractive target for drug design. Credit: Rockefeller University

Researchers studying anthrax knew they were onto something when they discovered an opponent the bacterium couldn’t outwit. Probing a bit deeper, they discovered this was because the attacker was interacting with something anthrax requires to survive: a carbohydrate in its cell wall. Now, in a study that has implications for the development of a new class of antibiotics, Rockefeller scientists report that they’ve determined the structure of an enzyme involved in the pathway responsible for building this essential carbohydrate.


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