Inhibition of In Vitro Splicing of a Group I Intron of Pneumocystis carinii
- 1 January 1994
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
- Vol. 41 (1), 31-38
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1550-7408.1994.tb05931.x
Abstract
Unlike its mammalian hosts, the opportunistic fungal pathogen Pneumocystis carinii harbors group I self-splicing introns in its chromosomal genes encoding rRNA. This difference between pathogen and host suggests that intron splicing is a promising target for chemotherapy. We have found that intron splicing in vitro is inhibited by the anti-Pneumocystis agent pentamidine and by a series of pentamidine analogues, as well as by some aminoglycosides, tetracycline, L-arginine and ethidium bromide. Further studies will be needed to determine if this is the mechanism of action of pentamidine against P. carinii.Keywords
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