The antibiotic that is active against drug-resistant tuberculosis:
The antibiotic that is active against drug-resistant tuberculosis: A naturally occurring antibiotic called kanglemycin A is effective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, even in drug-resistant strains, according to an international team of researchers who used chemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, and X-ray crystallography to show how the compound maintains its activity. The compound, kanglemycin A, is related to the antibiotic rifampicin, according to Katsuhiko Murakami, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State and one of leaders of the project. "Rifampicin is already part of the cocktail of antibiotics used to treat tuberculosis, but many strains of the tuberculosis-causing bacteria have developed resistance to it," Murakami said. "Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death by infectious disease worldwide," said Murakami. "Development of rifampicin resistance in M. tuberculosis has m