Platensimycin

Platensimycin is a novel broad spectrum gram-positive antibiotic produced by strains of Streptomyces platensis. Platensimycin is believed to inhibit bacterial growth by selectively inhibiting the elongation enzyme, β-ketoacyl acyl carrier protein synthase FabF of the fatty acid synthesis pathway. Binding studies indicate that acyl-FabF intermediate complex formation induces a FabF conformation change that is necessary for the interaction of Platensimycin. Platensimycin effectively kills numerous Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecium, and Streptococcus pneumoniae strains, including the ones that are resistant to oxacillin and vancomycin. Platensimycin does not exhibit antifungal activity towards Candida albicans or toxicity toward mammalian HeLa culture and is efficacious in treating S. aureus infection in mice in vivo. Although Platensimycin is ineffective toward wild-type E. coli due to the presence of functional multidrug efflux pump, Platensimycin does inhibit the growth of efflux-negative E. coli strains. Platensimycin is an inhibitor of Fatty Acid Synthase.