Yesterday I learned: antibiotics are complicated:
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I made another thing, but this one is just for me (and classmates who read my blog, I guess). It's nowhere near complete yet, but gives you an idea of some of the common drugs used to treat microbiotic infection and their mechanisms of action.
Tetracyclines (including the eponymous tetracycline and also the popular doxycycline), macrolides (including erythromycin and azithromycin), and clindamycin all target bacterial ribosomes. But whereas clindamycin and the macrolides disable the 50S subunit, tetracyclines go after the 30S subunit. None of these drugs are actually bactericidal - they don't kill bacteria.
What use are they if they don't kill bacteria? you might ask. By targeting the ribosome, these drugs stop the bacteria from effectively making proteins, thus stopping most cellular function and division. this can give your body enough time to take out the infection on its own. That can be for the best if you are trying to build up a robust immune response and create immunity through antibodies.
Tetracyclines (including the eponymous tetracycline and also the popular doxycycline), macrolides (including erythromycin and azithromycin), and clindamycin all target bacterial ribosomes. But whereas clindamycin and the macrolides disable the 50S subunit, tetracyclines go after the 30S subunit. None of these drugs are actually bactericidal - they don't kill bacteria.
What use are they if they don't kill bacteria? you might ask. By targeting the ribosome, these drugs stop the bacteria from effectively making proteins, thus stopping most cellular function and division. this can give your body enough time to take out the infection on its own. That can be for the best if you are trying to build up a robust immune response and create immunity through antibodies.
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