In:
Current Medicinal Chemistry, Bentham Science Publishers Ltd., Vol. 28, No. 35 ( 2021-10), p. 7312-7338
Abstract:
Some transition metals, like manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper and zinc,
required for the biosynthesis of metalloenzymes and metalloproteins, are essential micronutrients for the growth and development of pathogenic microorganisms. Among the
defenses put in place by the host organism, the so-called “nutritional immunity” consists of reducing the availability of micronutrients and thus “starving” the pathogen. In the
case of metals, microorganisms can fight the nutritional immunity in different ways, i.e. by directly recruiting the metal ion or capturing an extracellular metalloprotein or also
through the synthesis of specific metallophores which allow importing the metal in the form of a chelate complex. The best known and most studied metallophores are those directed
to iron (siderophores), but analogous chelators are also expressed by microorganisms to capture other metals, such as zinc. An efficient zinc recruitment can also be
achieved by means of specialized zinc-binding proteins. A deep knowledge of the properties, structure and action mechanisms of extracytoplasmic zinc chelators can be a powerful
tool to find out new therapeutic strategies against the antibiotic and/or antifungal resistance. This review aims to collect the knowledge concerning zincophores (small
molecules and proteins in charge of zinc acquisition) expressed by bacterial or fungal microorganisms that are pathogenic for the human body.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0929-8673
DOI:
10.2174/1389200222666210514012945
Language:
English
Publisher:
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Publication Date:
2021
SSG:
15,3
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