New tuberculosis drug development: targeting the shikimate pathway
Kapnick, S.M.; Zhang, Y.
Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery 3(5): 565-577
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 1746-0441 PMID: 23484927 DOI: 10.1517/17460441.3.5.565Document Number: 200593
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, yet no new drugs have been developed in the last 40 years. The exceedingly lengthy TB chemotherapy and the increasing emergence of drug resistance complicated by HIV co-infection call for the development of new TB drugs. These problems are further compounded by a poor understanding of the biology of persister bacteria. New molecular tools have offered insights into potential new drug targets, particularly the enzymes of the shikimate pathway, which is the focus of this review. Shikimate pathway enzymes, especially shikimate kinase, may offer attractive targets for new TB drug and vaccine development.