Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29520101›Full record

ArticleNature communications2018

Mutual potentiation drives synergy between trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole.

Yusuke Minato, Surendra Dawadi, Shannon L Kordus, Abiram Sivanandam, Courtney C Aldrich, Anthony D Baughn

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
61citing papers in PubMed
7.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

61 citing papers in PubMed, 120 citations in OpenAlex.

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  17. Zinc-metallochaperones ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2025
    Article
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1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Yusuke MinatoDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, 689 23rd Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, USA. yminato@umn.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0888-8564
Surendra DawadiDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 689 23rd Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, USA.
Shannon L KordusDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, 689 23rd Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, USA.
Abiram SivanandamDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, 689 23rd Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, USA.
Courtney C AldrichDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 689 23rd Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, USA.
Anthony D BaughnDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Minnesota Medical School, 689 23rd Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, USA. abaughn@umn.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1188-4238
University of Minnesota · USUniversity of Minnesota Medical Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Trimethoprim (TMP)-sulfamethoxazole (SMX) is a widely used synergistic antimicrobial combination to treat a variety of bacterial and certain fungal infections. These drugs act by targeting sequential steps in the biosynthetic pathway for tetrahydrofolate (THF), where SMX inhibits production of the THF precursor dihydropteroate, and TMP inhibits conversion of dihydrofolate (DHF) to THF. Consequently, SMX potentiates TMP by limiting de novo DHF production and this mono-potentiation mechanism is the current explanation for their synergistic action. Here, we demonstrate that this model is insufficient to explain the potent synergy of TMP-SMX. Using genetic and biochemical approaches, we characterize a metabolic feedback loop in which THF is critical for production of the folate precursor dihydropterin pyrophosphate (DHPPP). We reveal that TMP potentiates SMX activity through inhibition of DHPPP synthesis. Our study demonstrates that the TMP-SMX synergy is driven by mutual potentiation of the action of each drug on the other.

Indexed as

Drug SynergismEscherichia coliFeedback, PhysiologicalMicrobial Sensitivity TestsPterinsTetrahydrofolatesTrimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination7,8-dihydropterin pyrophosphatePterinsTetrahydrofolatesTrimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination

Identifiers

PMID29520101
PMCPMC5843663
OpenAlexW2793365010

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.