An NSAID bound to a bacterial proteinAARON OAKLEYNon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a class of compounds designed to reduce pain, fever, and inflammation. A few studies have suggested they may also possess antibacterial properties. In a paper published today (March 13) in Chemistry & Biology, researchers from the University of Wollongong in Australia have demonstrated that three NSAIDs exert weak antibacterial activity, and presented evidence that they do so by blocking the DNA polymerase sliding clamp, which is crucial for bacterial DNA replication.
“This is an interesting paper showing good evidence for biochemical inhibition of the DNA polymerase sliding clamp by a few NSAIDs,” said Thomas Keating, a principal scientist at AstraZeneca Infection Innovative Medicines in Waltham, Massachusetts, in an e-mail to The Scientist. The causal link to the observed antibacterial effects is tenuous, he added, but the sliding clamp is “an interesting, novel antibacterial target.”
“The fact the molecules tested are NSAIDs is not of great importance, given that the activity is too weak to be useful,” added Keating. “The compounds are best viewed as leads that are quite a ways off from clinical candidacy.”
Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University in New Jersey, is more critical. “I cannot be supportive about the prospect that ...
