Targeting DnaN for tuberculosis therapy using novel griselimycins

• DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa4690
• Publication Date: 2015-06-04T18:56:17Z
• Authors: Angela Kling; Peer Lukat; Deepak V. Almeida; Armin Bauer; Evelyne Fontaine; Sylvie Sordello; Nestor Zaburannyi; Jennifer Herrmann; Silke C. Wenzel; Claudia König; Nicole C. Ammerman; María Belén Barrio; Kai Borchers; Florence Bordon-P...; Mark Brönstrup; Gilles Courtemanche; Martin Gerlitz; Michel Geslin; Peter Hammann; Dirk W. Heinz; Holger Hoffmann; Sylvie Klieber; Markus Kohlmann; Michael Kurz; Christine Lair; Hans Matter; Eric Nuermberger; Sandeep Tyagi; Laurent Fraisse; Jacques H. Grosset; Sophie Lagrange; Rolf Müller
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 03 medical and health sciences; info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/500; 3. Good health

New for old—TB drug development

Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health threat for which there is only lengthy drug treatment. Patients need to consume multiple tablets over several months and frequently fail to complete their treatment. Consequently, drug-resistant strains of the pathogen have emerged, which add to the threat. Kling et al. revisited a natural product called griselimycin, extracted from the same organism that produced the prototype anti-TB drug, streptomycin. Unmodified griselimycin has poor pharmacological properties. However, one synthetic derivative had improved oral uptake and penetrated cells of the immune system that harbor the TB mycobacterium. In combination with other drugs, the griselimycin derivative showed high potency in mice with TB.

Science , this issue p. 1106