Pyrazinamide Is Active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Cultures at Neutral pH and Low Temperature

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2016 Jul 22;60(8):4956-60. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00654-16. Print 2016 Aug.

Abstract

For the past decades, an acidic pH has been used to render Mycobacterium tuberculosis susceptible to pyrazinamide for in vitro testing. Here, we show that at the standard breakpoint concentration and reduced culture temperatures, pyrazinamide (PZA) is active against tuberculosis (TB) at neutral pH. This finding should help unravel the mechanism of action of PZA and allow drug susceptibility testing (DST) methods to be optimized.

MeSH terms

  • Antitubercular Agents / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests / methods
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / drug effects*
  • Pyrazinamide / pharmacology*
  • Temperature
  • Tuberculosis / drug therapy*

Substances

  • Antitubercular Agents
  • Pyrazinamide

Grants and funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.