how can an antibiotic kill all the bacterial cells and not harm vertebrate cells; what part of the bacterial c

Answer 1

In case of penicillin based drugs: they inhibit bacterial capacity to build a bacterial wall, so bacteria get killed by lisis. Eukariotic cells don't have a cell wall so they are not affected by penicillin.

Similarly happens with other kinds of antibiotics

Answer 2

certain antibiotics kill certain bacterias, I don't uderstand what vertebrate cells have to do with antibiotics. More info please!

There isn't an antibiotic that kills EVERY bacteria, but some "normal flora" which is the good bacteria that each person has, can be affected by ab usage which is why eating yogurt or taking supplements like Lactinex can avoid yeast infections, etc. The person who asked the question mentioned vertebrate cells- I don't understand the connection between the 2.

Answer 3

Hi, thats a very interesting question.
I'm not sure about this... but if i had to make a good guess i would say::
i dont think there is an antibiotic that kill all the bacteria. But, i think... antibodies can be general for a large group such as say Gramnegative bacteria (e. coli, salmonala).
Because the bacterial cells surface is so different from our cells, for instence they have cell wall and peptidoglycan on the cell surface, antibodies can be made to kill (or be killed by the immune cells.) and not our cells.

Answer 4

Different antibiotics have different modes of action. They are highly specific and several antibiotics are isolated from bacteria! If you look at the architecture of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, the macinery that they have to make biomolecules differ significantly even though perform same or similar functions. Antibiotics selectively target one but not the other. For example, the cell wall is a unique structure in bacteria that is absent in higher eukaryotic cells. Thus, penicillin that acts on bacteria is targetless in human cells. If you look at the machinery (ribosomes) that synthesizes proteins in bacteria is slightly different from that in eukaryotes. We have antibiotics that can selectively target one but not the other.

Answer 5

most antibiotics prevent peptidoglycan synthesis.
Peptidoglycan is a very important part of the bacterial cell wall, and if it is inhibited (by antibiotics) then bacteria cannot reproduce.
So in essence, antibiotics prevent bacteria from multiplying.

This doesn't harm eukaryotic (human) cells because our cells do not have a cell wall, and therefore, have no need for peptidoglycan synthesis.

Answer 6

Antibiotics only target certain bacterias. There are two types; bactericidal, which kill the bacteria, and bacteriostatic, which prevent the bacteria from multiplying.

Answer 7

It is my understanding that anti-biotics kill everything... good and bad. Thats why you are supposed to eat yogurt afterwards, to replace the good bacteria that was killed by the anti-biotics.

If this is wrong, I'd like to know myself.