Auranofin exerts broad-spectrum bactericidal activities by targeting thiol-redox homeostasis.

ABSTRACT: Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a rising public health threat and make the identification of new antibiotics a priority. From a cell-based screen for bactericidal compounds against Mycobacterium tuberculosis under nutrient-deprivation conditions we identified auranofin, an orally bioavailable FDA-approved antirheumatic drug, as having potent bactericidal activities against both replicating and nonreplicating M. tuberculosis. We also found that auranofin is active against other Gram-positive bacteria, including Bacillus subtilis and Enterococcus faecalis, and drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains of Enterococcus faecium and Staphylococcus aureus. Our biochemical studies showed that auranofin inhibits the bacterial thioredoxin reductase, a protein essential in many

SUBMITTER: Harbut MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4394260 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature