Drug-resistant tuberculosis is a global health care threat calling for novel effective treatment options. Here, we report on two novel cytochrome bc1 inhibitors (MJ-22 and B6) targeting the Mycobacterium tuberculosis respiratory chain with excellent intracellular activities in human macrophages. Both hit compounds revealed very low mutation frequencies and distinct cross-resistance patterns with other advanced cytochrome bc1 inhibitors.
Keywords: ATP; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; QcrB; antibiotic; cytochrome bc1; drug screening.