Seminars

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major hospital and community-acquired pathogen. There are few antibiotics efficacious for treating infections caused by MRSA. This seminar will describe the identification of compounds that restore the susceptibility of MRSA to the carbapenem class of B-lactam antibiotics. Results from genetic studies indicate that the compounds act on a membrane localized protein, SAV1754, and inhibit peptidoglycan synthesis. SAV1754 is similar to the recently reported flippase, MviN/MurJ, of Excherichia coli. MviN is thought to translocate the lipid II precursor for peptidoglycan from the inside surface of the bacterial membrane to the outside surface. We propose that SAV1754 performs the same function in S. aureus. Our results indicate that SAV1754 inhibitors may be useful for developing a new therapy for MRSA.

Reference: Huber et al. Chemistry and Biology 16, p837-838. 2009.