key: cord-0832959-ck60kbx3
authors: Singh, Vinayak
title: Editorial: Tuberculosis Drug Discovery & Development: Drug Targets, Chemical Matter, and Approaches
date: 2021-09-09
journal: Front Cell Infect Microbiol
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.755459
sha: 1dfb238710e41bb88c17142183d975c5df4031c8
doc_id: 832959
cord_uid: ck60kbx3

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of phenotypic screening, it is a well-accepted notion in the TB field that deconvoluting the MoA of a phenotypic hit can be challenging and time-consuming. In recent times, considerable efforts have been made to develop a cascade utilizing various biological assays to inform mechanistic information (Mukherjee et al., 2017; Singh and Chibale, 2021) . In this context, the study published by Chengalroyen et al. is an important one that describes the application of a set of phenotypic assays to elucidate the MoAs of phenotypic hits.

TB drug discovery pipeline has been satisfactorily busy recently in incorporating new drug-like compounds at various phases of drug development, however, the emergence of resistance to the newly approved drugs such as bedaquiline is concerning. Identification and validation of new drug targets can be a good starting point towards finding a novel drug. Cofactor biosynthetic pathways are established targets for antimicrobial drug development. The review by Butman et al. critically examines the pantothenate and coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthetic enzymes as potential drug targets. They valued that the target assessment of individual CoA biosynthetic enzymes in Mtb is not straightforward and should not be reduced to a simple gene essentiality analysis. Their recommendation of combination treatments of drug regimens involving multi-target inhibitors that all have a CoA producing or utilizing enzyme is an interesting one. Similarly, Shaku et al. beautifully reviewed recent developments in identifying cell-wall targets and molecules -critically probing those that specifically inhibit a particular enzyme in cell-wall biosynthesis to those that may indirectly enhance the activity of compounds by weakening the cell-wall.

Finally, the cherry on top for this Research Topic was the beautifully written review on the in vivo vertebrate animal models of TB disease used in evaluating compound efficacy. Yang et al. critically review the practical aspects of each model, including the zebrafish, various mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, and non-human primates. This comprehensive review can be considered as a guideline in drawing a rationale for choosing the suitable animal model for progressing the compound.

In summary, this Research Topic relishes the contribution of top-leading scientists aimed at providing a current state of the art knowledge of TB drug discovery and development.

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

I would like to thank all authors who participated in this Research Topic in "Tuberculosis Drug Discovery & Development: Drug Targets, Chemical Matter, and Approaches". Special acknowledgement is given to all the reviewers who have contributed and whose valuable support is fundamental to the success of the journal. I acknowledge the support from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC).

The Quest for the Holy Grail: New Antitubercular Chemical Entities, Targets and Strategies

Enabling Faster Go/No-Go Decisions Through Secondary Screens in Anti-Mycobacterial Drug Discovery

Strategies to Combat Multi-Drug Resistance in Tuberculosis

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.