Antibiotic mechanisms – “Tear down the wall”

Bacterial cell wall biosynthesis is one of the most important target pathways for antibacterial therapies. Compounds that interfere with cell wall biosynthetic reactions have been in successful clinical use since the discovery of penicillin.

Interference of antibiotics with individual reactions, besides blocking a single target, can perturb the entire highly dynamic biosynthetic apparatus and can trigger a combination of cellular effects that can vary substantially, shaping antibiotic activity.
A chink in the armor - A central weak spot in Gram-positive is the cell wall building block lipid II also considered as the “Achilles' heel” of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis.