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Rutgers Researchers Determine the 3D Structure of Drug Target for Rifampin

Scientist at Rutgers University and their collaborators have published an article in Molecular Cell illustrating the three-dimensional structure of the drug target for the drug rifampicin. The abstract for the article is below. 

TITLE: Structural Basis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Transcription and Transcription Inhibition

AUTHOR: Lin, Wei et al.

ABSTRACT:

Mycobacterium tuberculosis
 (Mtb) is the causative agent of tuberculosis, which kills 1.8 million annually. Mtb RNA polymerase (RNAP) is the target of the first-line antituberculosis drug rifampin (Rif). We report crystal structures of Mtb RNAP, alone and in complex with Rif, at 3.8–4.4 Å resolution. The results identify an Mtb-specific structural module of Mtb RNAP and establish that Rif functions by a steric-occlusion mechanism that prevents extension of RNA. We also report non-Rif-related compounds—Nα-aroyl-N-aryl-phenylalaninamides (AAPs)—that potently and selectively inhibit Mtb RNAP and Mtb growth, and we report crystal structures of Mtb RNAP in complex with AAPs. AAPs bind to a different site on Mtb RNAP than Rif, exhibit no cross-resistance with Rif, function additively when co-administered with Rif, and suppress resistance emergence when co-administered with Rif.

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