Triazolopyrimidines Target Aerobic Respiration in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

We previously identified a series of triazolopyrimidines with antitubercular activity. We determined that Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains with mutations in QcrB, a subunit of the cytochrome supercomplex, were resistant. A cytochrome oxidase deletion strain was more sensitive to this series. We isolated resistant mutants with mutations in Rv1339. Compounds led to the depletion of intracellular ATP levels and were active against intracellular bacteria, but they did not inhibit human mitochondrial respiration. These data are consistent with triazolopyrimidines acting via inhibition of QcrB.