Tobramycin

Tobramycin is a 4,6-disubstituted 2-deoxystreptamine (DOS) ring-containing aminoglycoside antibiotic with activity against various Gram-negative and some Gram-positive bacteria. The mechanism of action of tobramycin has not been unambiguously elucidated, and some insights into its mechanism rely on results using similar aminoglycosides. In general, like other aminoglycosides, tobramycin is bactericidal and exhibits both immediate and delayed killing, which are attributed to different mechanisms, as outlined below.

Aminoglycosides are polycationic at physiological pH, such that they readily bind to bacterial membranes ("ionic binding"); this includes binding to lipopolysaccharide and phospholipids within the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and to teichoic acid and phospholipids within the cell membrane of Gram-positive bacteria. This binding displaces divalent cations and increases membrane permeability, which allows aminoglycoside entry. Additional aminoglycoside entry ("energy-dependent phase I") into the cytoplasm requires the proton-motive force, allowing access of the aminoglycoside to its primary intracellular target of the bacterial 30S ribosome. Mistranslated proteins produced as a result of aminoglycoside binding to the ribosome (see below) integrate into and disrupt the cell membrane, which allows more of the aminoglycoside into the cell ("energy-dependent phase II"). Hence, tobramycin and other aminoglycosides have both immediate bactericidal effects through membrane disruption and delayed bactericidal effects through impaired protein synthesis; observed experimental data and mathematical modelling support this two-mechanism model.

Inhibition of protein synthesis was the first recognized effect of aminoglycoside antibiotics. Structural and cell biological studies suggest that aminoglycosides bind to the 16S rRNA in helix 44 (h44), near the A site of the 30S ribosomal subunit, altering interactions between h44 and h45. This binding also displaces two important residues, A1492 and A1493, from h44, mimicking normal conformational changes that occur with successful codon-anticodon pairing in the A site. Overall, aminoglycoside binding has several negative effects, including inhibiting translation initiation and elongation and ribosome recycling. Recent evidence suggests that the latter effect is due to a cryptic second binding site situated in h69 of the 23S rRNA of the 50S ribosomal subunit. Also, by stabilizing a conformation that mimics correct codon-anticodon pairing, aminoglycosides promote error-prone translation; mistranslated proteins can incorporate into the cell membrane, inducing the damage discussed above.

Although direct mutation of the 16S rRNA is a rare resistance mechanism, due to the gene being present in numerous copies, posttranscriptional 16S rRNA modification by 16S rRNA methyltransferases (16S-RMTases) at the N7 position of G1405 or the N1 position of A1408 are common resistance mechanisms in aminoglycoside-resistant bacteria. These mutants also further support the proposed mechanism of action of aminoglycosides. Direct modification of the aminoglycoside itself through acetylation, adenylation, and phosphorylation by aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes (AMEs) are also commonly encountered resistance mutations. Finally, due to the requirement for active transport of aminoglycosides across bacterial membranes, they are not active against obligately anaerobic bacteria.