Structural Insights into the Activity of Carbapenemases: Understanding the Mechanism of Action of Current Inhibitors and Informing the Design of New Carbapenem Adjuvants

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance challenges the effectiveness of carbapenem antibiotics as last-line therapy, due to the production of both serine and metallo-β-lactamase enzymes. β-Lactamase inhibitors currently available on the market include clavulanic acid, sulbactam, tazobactam, avibactam, relebactam and vaborbactam but, while they are active against serine β-lactamases, they are inactive against the zinc-containing metallo-β-lactamases. This review aims to discuss the distinctive structural qualities of β-lactamase enzymes and to summarise the efficacy of clinically approved and emerging β-lactamase inhibitors against clinically significant carbapenemases.