Single Molecule Analysis Group and Center for RNA Biomedicine, Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2023 Jan-Jun;27(6):433-445. doi: 10.1080/14728222.2023.2230363. Epub 2023 Jul 6.
The growth of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens is an impending global threat that can only be averted through the development of novel antibacterial drugs. A promising answer could be the targeting of riboswitches, structured RNA elements found almost exclusively in bacteria.
This review examines the potential of riboswitches as novel antibacterial drug targets. The limited mechanisms of action of currently available antibiotics are summarized, followed by a delineation of the functional mechanisms of riboswitches. We then discuss the potential for developing novel approaches that target paradigmatic riboswitches in the context of their bacterial gene expression machinery.
We highlight potential advantages of targeting riboswitches in their functional form, embedded within gene expression complexes critical for bacterial survival. We emphasize the benefits of this approach, including potentially higher species specificity and lower side effects.
细菌病原体对抗生素耐药性的增长是一个迫在眉睫的全球威胁，只能通过开发新型抗菌药物来避免。一个有希望的答案可能是针对核糖开关，这是一种仅在细菌中发现的结构 RNA 元件。
本文综述了核糖开关作为新型抗菌药物靶点的潜力。总结了现有抗生素作用机制的局限性，接着阐述了核糖开关的功能机制。然后讨论了在细菌基因表达机制的背景下针对典范核糖开关开发新型方法的潜力。
我们强调了以功能形式靶向核糖开关的潜在优势，这些核糖开关嵌入对细菌生存至关重要的基因表达复合物中。我们强调了这种方法的好处，包括可能具有更高的物种特异性和更低的副作用。
