Teh J S, Yano T, Rubin H
Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Infect Disord Drug Targets. 2007 Jun;7(2):169-81. doi: 10.2174/187152607781001781.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) remains the deadliest bacterial pathogen worldwide, causing an estimated 1.7 million deaths in 2004 among an infected population of approximately 2 billion people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Therapeutic options are limited to a few drugs that are becoming increasingly ineffective. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Mtb strains are prevalent globally, fueled by inadequate patient compliance of drug intake. Recently, a high incidence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains resistant to all currently used drugs was reported among patients with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa [1]. The high mortality rate and short survival time of patients with XDR Mtb was especially alarming. The emergence of XDR mycobacteria emphasizes the urgent need for the identification of novel targets and development of new drugs. New potential drug targets exist in the Mtb respiratory chain. Certain classes of drugs have long been shown to exert significant tuberculocidal activity, such as the phenothiazines [2, 3]. Phenothiazines inhibit one of the key enzymes of the respiratory chain; type II NADH:menaquinone oxidoreductase or NDH-2 [4]. The effectiveness of this class of drugs against Mtb justifies further research into the respiratory chain, with the aim of elucidating its physiologic roles in in vitro and in vivo survival, and discovering new (sub)classes of drugs that can safely serve as inhibitors for clinical use. In this chapter, we critically review the recent advances in this field, with particular emphasis on NDH-2, and underscore the kinds of research further needed for drug development.
据世界卫生组织(WHO)统计,结核分枝杆菌(Mtb)仍是全球最致命的细菌病原体,2004年在约20亿受感染人群中造成了约170万人死亡。治疗选择仅限于少数几种药物,而这些药物的疗效正日益降低。由于患者服药依从性不足,耐多药(MDR)结核分枝杆菌菌株在全球普遍存在。最近,南非夸祖鲁 - 纳塔尔省报告称,在感染人类免疫缺陷病毒(HIV)的患者中,出现了对所有目前使用药物均耐药的广泛耐药(XDR)菌株的高发病率[1]。XDR结核分枝杆菌患者的高死亡率和短生存时间尤其令人担忧。XDR分枝杆菌的出现凸显了识别新靶点和开发新药的迫切需求。Mtb呼吸链中存在新的潜在药物靶点。某些类别的药物长期以来已被证明具有显著的杀结核活性,如吩噻嗪类药物[2, 3]。吩噻嗪类药物抑制呼吸链的关键酶之一;II型NADH:甲萘醌氧化还原酶或NDH - 2[4]。这类药物对Mtb的有效性为进一步研究呼吸链提供了依据,目的是阐明其在体外和体内生存中的生理作用,并发现可安全用作临床抑制剂的新(亚)类药物。在本章中,我们批判性地回顾了该领域的最新进展,特别强调了NDH - 2,并强调了药物开发还需要进行的研究类型。