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Clofazimine


Mechanism of action:

Clofazimine is a riminophenazine derivative. Clofazimine can intercalate between the base pairs of Mycobacterium DNA, altering DNA conformation and thereby inhibiting RNA polymerase activity, which interferes with RNA synthesis and bacterial proliferation. In addition, clofazimine can undergo redox cycling in the mycobacterial cell membrane, generating superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which cause lipid peroxidation of the cell membrane and ultimately kill the bacteria.

Reference(s):

1. Kumar H et al. (2020). Leprosy drug clofazimine activates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma and synergizes with imatinib to inhibit chronic myeloid leukemia cells. Haematologica. 


2. Cholo MC et al. (2012). Clofazimine: current status and future prospects. J Antimicrob Chemother.

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