Identification of Small Molecules Exhibiting Oxacillin Synergy through a Novel Assay for Inhibition of Expression in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) strains that are resistant to all forms of penicillin have become an increasingly common and urgent problem threatening human health. They are responsible for a wide variety of infectious diseases ranging from minor skin abscesses to life-threatening severe infections. The operon that is conserved among strains encodes a three-component signal transduction system () that is responsible for sensing and responding to cell wall stress.

The role of the gap junction perinexus in cardiac conduction: Potential as a novel anti-arrhythmic drug target.

Cardiovascular disease remains the single largest cause of natural death in the United States, with a significant cause of mortality associated with cardiac arrhythmias. Presently, options for treating and preventing myocardial electrical dysfunction, including sudden cardiac death, are limited. Recent studies have indicated that conduction of electrical activation in the heart may have an ephaptic component, wherein intercellular coupling occurs via electrochemical signaling across narrow extracellular clefts between cardiomyocytes.

New agents for the treatment of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Inadequate dosing and incomplete treatment regimens, coupled with the ability of the tuberculosis bacilli to cause latent infections that are tolerant of currently used drugs, have fueled the rise of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Treatment of MDR-TB infections is a major clinical challenge that has few viable or effective solutions; therefore patients face a poor prognosis and years of treatment. This review focuses on emerging drug classes that have the potential for treating MDR-TB and highlights their particular strengths as leads including their mode of action, in vivo efficacy, and key medicinal chemistry properties.