Rifamycins, a group of bacterial RNA polymerase inhibitors, are the firstline antimicrobial drugs to treat tuberculosis. In light of the emergence of rifamycinresistant bacteria, development of new RNA polymerase inhibitors that kill rifamycinresistant bacteria with high bioavailability is urgent. Structural analysis of bacterial RNA polymerase in complex with inhibitors by crystallography and cryo-EM indicates that RNA polymerase inhibitors function through five distinct molecular mechanisms:inhibition of the extension of short RNA; competition with substrates; inhibition of the conformational change of the'bridge helix'; inhibition of clamp opening;inhibition of clamp closure. This article reviews the research progress of these five groups of RNA polymerase inhibitors to provide references for the modification of existing RNA polymerase inhibitors and the discovery of new RNA polymerase inhibitors.
细菌RNA聚合酶抑制剂利福霉素类药物是治疗结核病的一线药物，随着利福霉素类药物耐药菌的出现，开发能杀灭利福霉素类药物耐药菌且生物利用度高的新型RNA聚合酶抑制剂已迫在眉睫。细菌RNA聚合酶与不同抑制剂复合物的晶体结构和冷冻电镜结构研究揭示了RNA聚合酶抑制剂主要具有以下分子生物学作用机制：①阻止短RNA延伸；②与底物竞争；③阻止“桥螺旋”变构；④阻止蟹钳打开；⑤阻止蟹钳关闭。本文综述了这五类重要RNA聚合酶抑制剂的研究进展，以期为已有RNA聚合酶抑制剂的修饰改造和新型RNA聚合酶抑制剂的开发提供参考。