Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotics and Mechanism of Action

Antibacterial action customarily falls within one of four mechanisms, three of which involve the inhibition or regulation of enzymes tangled in cell wall biosynthesis, nucleic acid metabolism and repair, or protein synthesis, respectively. The fourth mechanism associates the interruption of membrane structure. Many of these cellular functions targeted by antibiotics are most effective in multiplying cells. Since there is often overlap in these functions between eukaryotic mammalian cells and prokaryotic bacterial cells, it is not surprising that some antibiotics have also been found to be useful as anticancer agents.