Which class includes drugs that inhibit the synthesis of folate in bacteria?

Which class includes drugs that inhibit the synthesis of folate in bacteria?

• A. Folate synthesis inhibitors
• B. Aminoglycosides
• C. Penicillins
• D. Fluoroquinolones

Answer: (A)

Folate synthesis inhibitors directly target the bacterial pathway that makes folate, a key cofactor needed to build nucleotides. Humans don’t make folate the same way; we obtain it from our diet, so these drugs can selectively affect bacteria. In many bacteria, sulfonamides block dihydropteroate synthase by competing with PABA, halting the first step of folate production. Another drug, trimethoprim, blocks dihydrofolate reductase, stopping the pathway later and preventing formation of tetrahydrofolate. Together, these agents disrupt the same essential process at different points, giving strong antibacterial effect. The other listed mechanisms don’t involve folate synthesis: one class interferes with bacterial protein synthesis on the ribosome, another inhibits cell wall formation, and the last targets DNA replication enzymes. Thus, the class that includes drugs that inhibit folate synthesis in bacteria is folate synthesis inhibitors.

Folate synthesis inhibitors directly target the bacterial pathway that makes folate, a key cofactor needed to build nucleotides. Humans don’t make folate the same way; we obtain it from our diet, so these drugs can selectively affect bacteria. In many bacteria, sulfonamides block dihydropteroate synthase by competing with PABA, halting the first step of folate production. Another drug, trimethoprim, blocks dihydrofolate reductase, stopping the pathway later and preventing formation of tetrahydrofolate. Together, these agents disrupt the same essential process at different points, giving strong antibacterial effect.

The other listed mechanisms don’t involve folate synthesis: one class interferes with bacterial protein synthesis on the ribosome, another inhibits cell wall formation, and the last targets DNA replication enzymes. Thus, the class that includes drugs that inhibit folate synthesis in bacteria is folate synthesis inhibitors.