New PharmGKB pathway: macrolide antibiotics pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics

The PharmGKB summary of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of macrolide antibiotics has been published in Pharmacogenetics and Genomics. This summary introduces the candidate genes involved in the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic pathways of macrolide antibiotics, focusing on erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin. We present the uptake, transport, metabolism and clearance of the 3 macrolide antibiotics, and discuss their mechanisms of action: blocking protein translation in bacterial cells.

A stylized illustration of the PK/PD pathways of these macrolide antibiotics accompanies the publication, using erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin to illustrate the different interactions and properties of macrolides with different chemical structures. The pathway and accompanying text can be viewed on the PharmGKB website at https://www.pharmgkb.org/pathway/PA166160731.