Understanding of molecular mechanisms of action of antibiotics on microbial cell has crucial importance for effective treatment of bacterial infections, search for means of drug resistance removing and development of the new antibiotics. This review contains detailed information about primary molecular targets of different classes of antibiotics, currently used in practice and some most promising experimental drugs very close for clinical application. Information about mechanisms of bacterial cell death is presented as actively directed process starting after the damage of primary antibiotic target and involving free oxygen radicals, bacterial autolysins, cholin-anticholin and toxin-antitoxin systems. Presence of phenomenon of programmed cell death in prokaryotes is shown and its role and consequences for antibacterial therapy in medical practice are elucidated.
