title: Vitamin B3 confers resistance to sulfa drugs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
abstract: Sulfa drugs are ubiquitous antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections and diseases caused by eukaryotes, such as Pneumocystis carinii, the leading cause of pneumonia (PCP) in HIV patients. A daily regimen of sulfonamides and multivitamins including vitamin B3 is also recommended for persons with HIV. We show that exogenous vitamin B3 (nicotinate) confers resistance to sulfa drugs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a model for P. carinii. We propose a model of metabolic rerouting in which increased nicotinate leads to increased intracellular concentration of p-aminobenzoate, thus leading to sulfonamide resistance.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kornfeld
authors.forename: Brian P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Nichols
mesh_terms: D010129:4-Aminobenzoic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004347:Drug Interactions; D025141:Drug Resistance, Fungal; D009536:Niacinamide / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole / Q000494:pharmacology; D013424:Sulfanilamides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000077589:Sulfathiazole; D013432:Sulfathiazoles / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D013424:Sulfanilamides; D013432:Sulfathiazoles; D009536:Niacinamide; D013420:Sulfamethoxazole; D010129:4-Aminobenzoic Acid; D000077589:Sulfathiazole