Beauvais A, Latgé J P
Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Drug Resist Updat. 2001 Feb;4(1):38-49. doi: 10.1054/drup.2001.0185.
Antifungal drugs directed against the human opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus are limited in number and ergosterol-targeted: the polyenes bind to the membrane ergosterol and the azoles block the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway. The efficacy of the drugs currently available for clinical use (amphotericin B and itraconazole) is limited and the frequent occurrence of therapeutic failures in the treatment of invasive aspergillosis emphasizes the need for the development of new agents. Cell wall biosynthetic pathways have been recognized for a long time as essential and unique specific drug targets. Recent studies of the chemical organization of the cell wall of A. fumigatus together with comparative analysis of yeast cell wall data have shown that beta 1-3 glucan branching and chitin-beta 1-3 glucan binding are essential exocellular enzymatic steps in cell wall biosynthesis. The enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and remodeling of cell wall polysaccharides especially in A. fumigatus are reviewed.
多烯类药物与膜麦角固醇结合，唑类药物则阻断麦角固醇生物合成途径。目前临床可用药物（两性霉素B和伊曲康唑）的疗效有限，侵袭性曲霉病治疗中频繁出现治疗失败的情况凸显了开发新药物的必要性。细胞壁生物合成途径长期以来一直被认为是重要且独特的特异性药物靶点。最近对烟曲霉细胞壁化学结构的研究以及对酵母细胞壁数据的比较分析表明，β-1,3-葡聚糖分支和几丁质-β-1,3-葡聚糖结合是细胞壁生物合成中必不可少的细胞外酶促步骤。本文综述了参与细胞壁多糖生物合成和重塑的酶，尤其是烟曲霉中的此类酶。
