Substrates and inhibitors of antiseptic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus

The range of substrates of antiseptic resistance associated with the ebr gene is very wide and includes antiseptics, DNA-intercalating drugs and preservatives which have no quaternary ammonium group in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antiseptic resistance was inhibited by calcium channel blockers and calmodulin inhibitors similarly to the resistance to multiple antitumor agents encoded by the mdr gene in human cells. These results show that the common properties of the mdr gene and the ebr gene may be shared by the mechanisms that are involved in the removal of toxic substances from the cell.