Inhibiting bacterial cell division by controlling the essential FtsZ/SepH protein-protein interaction

耐抗生素病原体是医疗保健领域的巨大威胁。常规抗生素药物的最后手段无法治疗患者的多重耐药菌株。迫切需要新的抗生素方法。为了传播和生存，细菌需要分裂。因此，细菌细胞分裂已成为对抗多重耐药病原体的有希望的抗生素靶标途径。该项目的目标是致病菌（如结核病的病原体结核分枝杆菌）繁殖所需的蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用。利用耻垢分枝杆菌作为结核分枝杆菌的无害模式生物，该项目将设计、合成和测试专门阻止这种必要的蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用形成以抑制细胞分裂的化合物。

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are a huge threat in healthcare. The last resorts of conventional antibiotic drugs are unable to treat multi-resistant strains in patients. New approaches towards antibiotics are desperately needed. To spread and survive, bacteria need to divide. Thus, bacterial cell division has emerged as a promising antibiotic target pathway to combat multi-resistant pathogens. This project aims to target a protein-protein interactions that pathogenic bacteria, like the causative agent of TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis require to propagate. Using Mycobacteria smegmatis as a harmless model organisms for M. tuberculosis, the project will design, synthesise and test compounds which specifically prevent the formation of this essential protein-protein interaction to inhibit cell division.