Abstract
Isoniazid (isonicotinic acid hydrazide, INH) is one of the most widely used antituberculosis drugs, yet its precise target of action on Mycobacterium tuberculosis is unknown. A missense mutation within the mycobacterial inhA gene was shown to confer resistance to both INH and ethionamide (ETH) in M. smegmatis and in M. bovis. The wild-type inhA gene also conferred INH and ETH resistance when transferred on a multicopy plasmid vector to M. smegmatis and M. bovis BCG. The InhA protein shows significant sequence conservation with the Escherichia coli enzyme EnvM, and cell-free assays indicate that it may be involved in mycolic acid biosynthesis. These results suggest that InhA is likely a primary target of action for INH and ETH.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 227-230 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 263 |
Issue number | 5144 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 14 1994 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General