Targeting Ribonuclease P

Antibiotics and RNase P

“…The ribonucleoprotein character of RNase P with fundamental differences in structure and function between bacterial and eukaryotic RNase P enzymes makes the bacterial enzyme an ideal molecular model for the study of various significant inhibitors. In the past two decades, RNase P was extensively studied as a drug target, using either antisense strategies or classical inhibitors [ 8 ]. This review focuses on drugs that target bacterial RNase P, and we will give special reference to a new class of inhibitors that act as antibiotics, the peptide–morpholino oligonucleotide conjugates, designed to bind and promote the cleavage of specific mRNAs by the action of RNase P as tools inhibiting gene function and bacterial growth.…”