Isoniazid interaction with tyrosine as a possible mode of action of the drug in mycobacteria.

The antitubercular drug isoniazid (INH) was hown by radio-chromatographic studies to react with tyrosine in growth medium. Exogenous tyrosine added to the growth medium interfered with the inhibitory action of INH on Mycobacterium phlei. These observations were confirmed by difference spectra studies which showed that tyrosine would react with INH as long as the tyrosine phenolic hydroxyl group was not blocked. These results led to the hypothesis that INH could exert its influence by interfering with tyrosine residues in mycobacterial proteins. N-acetylimidazole, a tyrosine-acetylating agent, mimicked the action of INH on the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidase and dehydrogenase activity in electron transport particles from wild-type and INH-resistant M. phlei. Pyrazinamide, a drug structurally related to INH, also mimicked its effect on electron transport particles. To confirm that INH could react with tyrosine in proteins, purified enzymes with known tyrosine positions were tested. Bovine carboxypeptidase A with tyrosine at the active site was inhibited by INH and N-acetylimidazole, whereas the controls, yeast alcohol dehydrogenase and ribonuclease A, were not. It is therefore proposed that tyrosine residues in proteins may serve as the target for INH action in mycobacteria.