Abstract
Vaichulis and Doll1 have shown that the true susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to penicillin was never validly determined. Recent experiments2 have shown that penicillin is bactericidal for and acts synergistically with isoniazid against isoniazid sensitive and resistant M. tuberculosis. Utilizing the Warburg technique to examine the mode of action of penicillin on Mycobacteria we have found that penicillin inhibits the endogenous respiration of Mycobacterium smegmatis and that penicillin potentiates the inhibitory action of isoniazid.
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References
Vaichulis, E. M. K., and Doll, J. P., Amer. Rev. Resp. Dis., 80, 262 (1959).
Vaichulis, E. M. K., Vicher, E. E., and Novak, M. V., Amer. Rev. Resp. Dis., 86, 744 (1962); also in preparation.
Vaichulis, E. M. K., Amer. Rev. Resp. Dis., 83, 121 (1961).
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Nasta, M., Paunesco, E., and Georgesco, P., Ann. Inst. Pasteur, 99, 504 (1960).
Pope, H., Amer. Rev. Pulmonary Dis., 73, 735 (1956).
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VAICHULIS, E., VICHER, E. & NOVAK, M. Inhibition of the Endogenous Metabolism of Mycobacterium smegmatis by Penicillin and Isoniazid. Nature 202, 726–727 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/202726a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/202726a0
