β-lactam antibiotics are the most commonly used antibacterial agents and growing resistance to these drugs is a concern.NCBISkiptomaincontentSkiptonavigationResourcesHowToAboutNCBIAccesskeysMyNCBISignintoNCBISignOutTryoutPMCLabsandtelluswhatyouthink.LearnMore.JournalListHHSAuthorManuscriptsPMC3970115AnnNYAcadSci.Authormanuscript;availableinPMC2014Mar31.Publishedinfinaleditedformas:AnnNYAcadSci.2013Jan;1277:91–104.Publishedonline2012Nov16.doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06796.xPMCID:PMC3970115NIHMSID:NIHMS411328PMID:23163348Metallo-β-lactamasestructureandfunctionTimothyPalzkillTimothyPalzkillDepartmentofPharmacology,BaylorCollegeofMedicine,Houston,TexasFindarticlesbyTimothyPalzkillAuthorinformationCopyrightandLicenseinformationDisclaimerTimothyPalzkill,DepartmentofPharmacology,BaylorCollegeofMedicine,Houston,Texas;Correspondence:TimothyPalzkill,DepartmentofPharmacology,BaylorCollegeofMedicine,OneBaylorPlaza,Houston,TX77030,ude.mcb@pyhtomitCopyrightnoticeThepublisher'sfinaleditedversionofthisarticleisavailableatAnnNYAcadSciSeeotherarticlesinPMCthatcitethepublishedarticle.β-lactamantibioticsarethemostcommonlyusedantibacterialagentsandgrowingresistancetothesedrugsisaconcern.Metallo-β-lactamasesareadiversesetofenzymesthatcatalyzethehydrolysisofabroadrangeofβ-lactamdrugsincludingcarbapenems.Thisdiversityisreflectedintheobservationthattheenzymemechanismsdifferbasedonwhetheroneortwozincsareboundintheactivesitewhich,inturn,isdependentonthesubclassofβ-lactamase.ThedisseminationofthegenesencodingtheseenzymesamongGram-negativebacteriahasmadethemanimportantcauseofresistance.Inaddition,therearecurrentlynoclinicallyavailableinhibitorstoblockmetallo-β-lactamaseaction.Thisreviewsummarizesthenumerousstudiesthathaveyieldedinsightsintothestructure,function,andmechanismofactionoftheseenzymes.Keywords:β-lactamase,antibioticresistance,carbapenem,zincmetallo-enzymeβ-lactamantibioticsareamongthemostoftenusedantimicrobialagentsandanincreasingincidenceofresistancetothesedrugsisapublichealthconc