Drug Resistance Mechanisms · Pharmacology

Efflux pumps contribute to antimicrobial resistance by:

  1. Breaking down antibiotics inside the cell
  2. Pumping antibiotics out of the bacterial cell
  3. Thickening the peptidoglycan cell wall
  4. Altering the ribosomal target of the antibiotic
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Correct answer: Pumping antibiotics out of the bacterial cell

Efflux pumps actively expel antibiotics from bacterial cells, reducing intracellular drug concentration. This mechanism can confer resistance to multiple drug classes.

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