M. McCarthy
Nov 20, 2018
Citations
0
Influential Citations
17
Citations
Journal
Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy
Abstract
In 2015, a screen of bacterial strains produced a novel antibiotic with broad antimicrobial activity known as teixobactin [1]. The compound was identified using a new method to grow uncultured organisms by cultivation in situ, and was found to inhibit cell wall synthesis by binding to a highly conserved precursors such as lipid II, lipid III, and undecaprenyl pyrophosphate [2]. Properties of the compound, which was obtained from a grassy field in Maine, suggested that developing resistance might be difficult [3–5]. Subsequent work in a murine model indicated that teixobactin might be a promising therapy in humans, including patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) [6]. This paper reviews the discovery and development of teixobactin and its analogs, and explores how they may serve as an example for other novel compounds that are in development to address the expanding problem of antimicrobial drug resistance.