Explain the concept of selective toxicity
What will be an ideal response?
Selective toxicity is the underlying principle supporting Ehrlich's idea of the "magic bullet." This simply means that the most effective antimicrobial drugs are those that target some difference in a cellular structure or metabolic process between the host/patient cell and the target microbe. Conversely, the more similar the host cell and the microbe are, the harder it is to selectively attack just the microbe. Drugs that do not differentiate very well between types of cells are generally more toxic to the host than those that are more selective. This is most striking in the case of antiviral drugs, which are generally poor magic bullets because the virus is dependent on the host cell for all aspects of its growth. Those drugs that successfully inactivate the virus sometimes also end up damaging or even killing the cell.
Bloom's Taxonomy: Application
Section: Mechanisms of Antimicrobial Action
Learning Outcome: 10.3
You might also like to view...
The word that best describes the interaction of sympathetic and parasympathetic systems is:
a. antagonistic b. cooperative c. overriding d. agonistic e. ineffective
A behavior that has evolved to aid relatives, although at personal risk, and thus increases the chance of your genes being passed on to the next generation is known as
A. altricial behavior. B. instinctive behavior. C. kin selection. D. operant conditioning. E. adaptive behavior.
The cycle during which a follicle matures from a primary to a secondary to a vesicular follicle is called the ________
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s)
The specific function of a protein is determined by the
A) number of peptide bonds it contains. B) exact sequence of amino acids. C) fatty acids that are joined together in the polypeptide. D) number of disulfide bonds. E) hydrophilic head attached to the hydrophobic tail.