The Mechanism of Resistance to Sulfonamides

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In the previous paper (II) it was shown that one of the actions of sulfonamides was the inhibition of tryptophane synthesis by S. aureus. In this connection it was observed that in a tryptophane-free medium, pantothenate (in the presence of glucose) made possible the growth of some exacting strains of Staphylococci that otherwise required the addition of tryptophane for growth. Other members of the vitamin B complex, including riboflavin, did not produce growth in the same manner as pantothenate. The exacting strains produced arylamines in fairly large quantities in the presence of pantothenate and glucose. In inhibition expts. with sulfonamides it was found that pantothenate, together with tryptophane, either partially or completely reversed the inhibitory action of sulfonamides. When riboflavin was also added, not only was inhibition abolished but in some cases the growth even exceeded that observed in the controls. Riboflavin alone also exerted some antisulfonamide effect. The antisulfona-mide effect was more pronounced when tryptophane was also added to the medium. The evidence from both growth and inhibition expts. gave rise to the conclusion that pantothenate in some manner was probably involved in the synthesis of tryptophane.

This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit: