The structural biology of molecular recognition by vancomycin.
Vancomycin is the archetype among naturally occurring compounds known as glycopeptide antibiotics. Because it is a vital therapeutic agent used world-wide for the treatment of infections with gram-positive bacteria, emerging bacterial resistance to vancomycin is a major public health threat. Recent investigations into the mechanisms of action of glycopeptide antibiotics are driven by a need to understand their detailed mechanism of action so that new agents can be developed to overcome resistance. These investigations have revealed that glycopeptide antibiotics exhibit a rich array of complex cooperative phenomena when they bind target ligands, making them valuable model systems for the study of molecular recognition.
Department of Pharmacology, Johnson Foundation for Molecular Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104-6084, USA. loll@pharm.med.upenn.edu
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D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D019281:Dimerization; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D008024:Ligands; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008958:Models, Molecular; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D008024:Ligands; D014640:Vancomycin