Induction of Penicillin Resistance in S.Thermophilus

Abstract

Availability of antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial infections goes back over sixty years. Use of cell wall synthesis inhibitors are shown to be an effective means of aiding host defenses in cases of bacterial infection in man and animals. Generally four groups of inhibitors of cell wall synthesis are commonly utilized and categorized under ß-lactams. These antibiotics are among the most useful chemotheropeutic tools available to medicine. All cell wall inhibitors need to reach at least cytoplasmic membrane to interact with their target. For gram negative organisms the other membrane affords a potential barrier to the cell wall inhibitors to interact with their targets. Other potential cellular barriers include: capsular materials, peptidoglycan and possibly the cytoplasmic membrane. Once past the permeability barriers this group will interact to inhibit the formation of peptidoglycan. To be effective all of cell wall inhibitors need first reach their targets. Most of the clinically important cell wall inhibitors have targets either on the surface of the cytoplasmic membrane for ß- lactams, within this membrane for bacitracin and vancomycin, or in the cytoplasm of the cell for cycloserine.