Molecular Players in Tuberculosis Drug Development: Another Break in the Cell Wall

Tuberculosis is a leading killer, especially for people living with HIV. It is a real medical need to tackle this disease, which is made difficult to treat due to the increasing spread of multi-drug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant bacterial strains. Cases of tuberculosis that are resistant to virtually all drugs currently available are increasing at an alarming rate around the world. Here, we review the current knowledge in the field of drug development against tuberculosis with a focus on the mechanisms of action of drugs and the targeted bacterial cell processes involved. Particular emphasis is dedicated to the process of cell wall synthesis, which has proven to provide strong potentialities for drug development. It is hoped that a deeper understanding of key molecular machineries to tackle will provide us with a better outline of possible antibacterial mechanisms of action and offer hints for the design of more efficient strategies to treat resistant tuberculosis in the future.