ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms
Targeting TMP
New ways to target bacterial DNA synthesis
March 3, 2016 8:00 AM UTC
In a study in Science, chemists at the University of Iowa reported that they have worked out the major steps in a bacteria-specific pathway for synthesizing the nucleotide TMP, opening new possibilities for antibiotics that are both non-toxic and can overcome resistance to marketed inhibitors of DNA synthesis.
Antibiotics designed to selectively block DNA synthesis typically target enzymes involved in making thymidine monophosphate (TMP) - also known as thymidylate, a nucleotide that gets incorporated into DNA but not RNA. ...