4-Aminosalicylic acid is an antimetabolite of p-aminobenzoic acid that has antibacterial activity.1,2 It is active against streptomycin-sensitive and -resistant strains of M. tuberculosis (MICs = 0.78 and 0.39 ?g/ml, respectively), an effect that can be reversed by PABA.1 4-Aminosalicylic acid is an alternative substrate for mycobacterial dihydropteroate synthase (FolP1) and misincorporation into the folate pathway leads to accumulation of several folate-dependent metabolites including serine, homocysteine, dUMP, and AICAR, markers of folate pathway inhibition, in a concentration-dependent manner.2 It reverses manganese-induced increases in rat hippocampal levels of NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), cleaved caspase-1, and phosphorylated p65, markers of NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent pyroptosis, when administered at a dose of 300 mg/kg.3 4-Aminosalycilic acid is also a building block that has been used in the synthesis of luminescent lanthanide complexes.4 Formulations containing 4-aminosalicylic acid have been used in the treatment of tuberculosis.
1.Youmans, G.P., Raleigh, G.W., and Youmans, A.S.The tuberculostatic action of para-aminosalicylic acidJ. Bacteriol.54(4)409-416(1947) 2.Chakraborty, S., Gruber, T., Barry, C.E., III, et al.Para-aminosalicylic acid acts as an alternative substrate of folate metabolism in Mycobacterium tuberculosisScience339(6115)88-91(2013) 3.Peng, D., Li, J., Deng, Y., et al.Sodium para-aminosalicylic acid inhibits manganese-induced NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent pyroptosis by inhibiting NF-κB pathway activation and oxidative stressJ. Neuroinflammation17(1)343(2020) 4.Terai, T., Ito, H., Kikuchi, K., et al.Salicylic-acid derivatives as antennae for ratiometric luminescent probes based on lanthanide complexesChemistry18(24)7377-7381(2012)