title: Molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.
abstract: Over the past decade, resistance to antibiotics has emerged as a crisis of global proportion. Microbes resistant to many and even all clinically approved antibiotics are increasingly common and easily spread across continents. At the same time there are fewer new antibiotic drugs coming to market. We are reaching a point where we are no longer able to confidently treat a growing number of bacterial infections. The molecular mechanisms of drug resistance provide the essential knowledge on new drug development and clinical use. These mechanisms include enzyme catalyzed antibiotic modifications, bypass of antibiotic targets and active efflux of drugs from the cell. Understanding the chemical rationale and underpinnings of resistance is an essential component of our response to this clinical challenge.
authors.affiliation: M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, 1200 Main St W, Hamilton, ON, Canada. wrightge@mcmaster.ca
authors.forename: Gerard D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D055162:Biocatalysis; D027081:DNA Gyrase / Q000378:metabolism; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006420:Hemeproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006420:Hemeproteins; C100771:Vgb protein, Bacteria; D001618:beta-Lactamases; D027081:DNA Gyrase