Bacterial transforming agent

Abstract

A method of increasing the sensitivity of a bacterial strain to a cell-wall active antimicrobial agent, to which the bacterial strain or a progenitor strain from which the bacterial strain has evolved is sensitive is described. The method comprises the step of exposing said bacterial strain to a transforming agent having the following formula (1): where moieties R1, and R2 are each independently selected from alkyl, alkyloxy, alkyloxycarbonyl, alkylcarbonyloxy, alkenyl, alkenyloxy, alkenyloxycarbonyl, alkenylcarbonyloxy, alkynyl, alkynyloxy: alkynyloxycarbonyl, alkynylcarbonyloxy, each of which may be substituted or unsubstituted, straight chain or branched or cyclic, aryl, aryloxy, aryloxycarbonyl, arylcarbonyloxy, each of which may be substituted or unsubstituted and cabamoyl, moiety R3 is selected from alkyl, alkyloxy, alkylcarbonyloxy, alkenyl, alkenyloxy, alkenylcarbonyloxy, alkynyl, alkynyloxy, alkynylcarbonyloxy, each of which may be substituted o unsubstituted, straight chain or branched or cyclic, aryl, aryloxy, arylcarbonyloxy, each of which may be substituted or unsubstituted, and carboxyl other than R1, R2, and R3 are not all H, and Y is selected from a natural amino acid side chain. The use of an agent having the above formula in the manufacture of a medicament for increasing the sensitivity of a bacterial strain infecting, colonising or being carried by a patient, to an cell-wall active antimicrobial agent is also disclosed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.