{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,22]],"date-time":"2026-06-22T23:51:25Z","timestamp":1782172285145,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,4]],"date-time":"2023-04-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1680566400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cell wall deficient \u201cL- form\u201d bacteria are of growing medical interest as a possible source of recurrent or persistent infection, largely because of their complete resistance to cell wall active antibiotics such as \u03b2-lactams. Antibiotics that specifically kill L-forms would be of potential interest as therapeutics, but also as reagents with which to explore the role of L-forms in models of recurrent infection. To look for specific anti-L-form antibiotics, we screened a library of several hundred FDA-approved drugs and identified compounds highly selective for L-form killing. Among the compounds identified were representatives of two different classes of calcium channel blockers: dihydropyridines, e.g., manidipine; and diphenylmethylpiperazine, e.g., flunarizine. Mode of action studies suggested that both classes of compound work by decreasing membrane fluidity. This leads to a previously recognized phenotype of L-forms in which the cells can continue to enlarge but fail to divide. We identified a considerable degree of variation in the activity of different representatives of the two classes of compounds, suggesting that it may be possible to modify them for use as drugs for L-form-dependent infections.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2023.1097413","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,4]],"date-time":"2023-04-04T04:44:00Z","timestamp":1680583440000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Repurposing drugs with specific activity against L-form bacteria"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Kaveh","family":"Emami","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Banks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ling Juan","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jeffery","family":"Errington","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0065-2164(09)01201-5","article-title":"Bacterial L-forms.","volume":"68","author":"Allan","year":"2009","journal-title":"Adv. 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