Acid-fast

Acid-resistant cell wall in mycobacteria denotes a special kind of cell wall structure, which makes these bacteria highly resistant to environmental influences, acids, antibiotics and phagocytosis.

The acid-fast cell wall occurs in certain Gram-positive bacteria and is characterized by a layer of wax over the Mureinsakkulus. This layer is made of mycolic acids. The extreme opacity to the hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials, it is in these bacteria to a slow feeding and slow growth, the generation times are particularly long, up to about 24 hours. Inhibition of mycolic acid synthesis can be achieved by Isoniacid and pyrazinamide.

The type of mycolic acids, which are distinguished by their long aliphatic chains, often determines the pathogenicity of mycobacteria. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis mycolic acids on trehalose are attached, and the bacteria form in its propagation, cord-like cell clusters (Cord factor).