Most bacteria have cell walls consisting of single or more protective layers on top of their cytoplasmic membranes. These cell walls protect them from antibiotics, but also provide good targets for antibacterial drug discovery. Creative Biolabs has developed a top drug discovery platform to identify novel antibacterial drug targets, especially for cell wall targets.
Bacterial cell walls potentially fulfill the principle of an ideal antibacterial drug target. Firstly, the disruption of bacterial cell walls is vital to bacteria living for maintaining osmotic pressure and protecting the cellular contents from the external environment. Secondly, cell wall targets are fit for identifying broad spectrum antibiotics because of some general functional and structural features of cell walls highly conserved among multiple pathogens. Thirdly, these cell wall target molecules are not present in mammalian cells and hence have a low incidence of mechanism-based toxicity. Creative Biolabs screens potential cell wall targets of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria according to their cell wall components.
Figure 1. Cell wall structures of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria
Peptidoglycan is a promising target in bacterial cell wall for broad-spectrum antibacterial drug discovery, as the disaccharide-pentapeptide peptidoglycan structure is common to both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. A series of antibiotics target on peptidoglycan have been developed by now. Creative Biolabs has developed a top drug discovery platform to identify drug targets related to peptidoglycan synthesis for our clients. We have the ability to identify all the related targets, including antibacterial agents related to peptidoglycan polymerization, synthesis of the peptidoglycan unit, and peptidoglycan synthesis.
Teichoic acids (TA) are bacterial copolymers of glycerol phosphate or ribitol phosphate and carbohydrates linked via phosphodiester bonds. Teichoic acids are found within the cell wall of most Gram-positive bacteria making them potential antibiotic targets for Gram-positive bacteria. Creative Biolabs professional groups identify targets related to both wall teichoic acid (WTA) and lipoteichoic acid for our clients. The targets include wall teichoic acid, virulence targets, β-lactam potentiator targets, late stage WTA pathway inhibitors, and lipoteichoic acid (LTA).
Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are large molecules consisting of a lipid and a polysaccharide composed of O-antigen, outer core and inner core joined by a covalent bond. They are found in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and elicit strong immune responses in animals. Creative Biolabs provides professional services on identifying potential targets related to LPS synthesis and transport.
Creative Biolabs professional groups have the ability to identify novel antibacterial drug targets in cell wall targets. For more detailed information, please feel free to contact us or directly sent us an inquiry.
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