Description
Application
Ethambutol is an antimycobacterial used to treat tuberculosis in combination with other antibiotics to reduce the development of drug resistance.
Ethambutol is an antimycobacterial used to treat tuberculosis in combination with other antibiotics to reduce the development of drug resistance. It has been used to study multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in highest-incidence-rate areas in China.
Biochem/physiol Actions
Ethambutol is bacteriostatic against actively growing TB bacilli. Mycolic acids attach to the 5′-hydroxyl groups of D-arabinose residues of arabinogalactan and form mycolyl-arabinogalactan-peptidoglycan complex in the cell wall. Ethambutol disrupts arabinogalactan synthesis by inhibiting arabinosyltransferases, specifically those in Mycobacterium, interfering with the biosynthesis of arabinogalactans found in the cell wall of mycobacteria and leading to increased cell wall permeability.
Ethambutol specifically inhibits arabinosyltransferases in Mycobacterium, interfering with the biosynthesis of arabinogalactans found in the cell wall of mycobacteria.
