Mechanism of Action
Trimethoprim acts by interfering with the action of bacterial dihydrofolate reductase, inhibiting synthesis of tetrahydrofolic acid. Tetrahydrofolic acid is an essential precursor in the de novo synthesis of the intermediate Thymidine monophosphate (dTMP), precursor of DNA metabolite Thymidine triphosphate. Bacteria are unable to take up folic acid from the environment (i.e. the infection host) and are thus dependent on their own de novo synthesis. Inhibition of the enzyme starves the bacteria of nucleotides necessary for DNA replication causing, in certain circumstances, cell lethality due to thymineless death. This drug was developed by George H. Hitchings and collaborators, who shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1988 for the discovery of antifolates.
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