Pristinamycin

Pristinamycin is a streptogramin antibiotic synthesized by Streptomyces pristinaespiralis.

Composition

It is a mixture of two chemically different components, pristinamycin I and pristinamycin II pristinamycin I is a branched cyclohexadepsipeptide and belongs to the class of peptide antibiotics, while pristinamycin II represents a polyunsaturated macrolactone and belongs to the group of polyketides. PI and PII are formed in a ratio of 30:70 of S. pristinaespiralis. Both groups of substances for themselves possess bacteriostatic activity by blocking bacterial protein synthesis. In combination, however, the components act synergistically, the activity increases by a hundred times and the effect is a bactericidal ultimately.

Commercial forms

As a chemical derivative of pristinamycin under the trade name Synercid ( Sanofi- Aventis) as a therapeutic agent against infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin (MRSA ) and vancomycin - resistant strains ( VRSA ), Enterococcus faecium, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and some of their resistant strains, as well as Haemophilus influenzae used.

The pristinamycin biosynthesis gene cluster is the largest known antibiotics supercluster with ~ 210 kb. Within this gene region, the genes encoding for the biosynthesis of pristinamycin I and II are not clustered together before, but are scattered over the entire 210 kb region. Furthermore, the Biosynthesegenregion is interrupted by a cryptic type II polyketide biosynthetic gene clusters.