Ws. Champney et Cl. Tober, INHIBITION OF TRANSLATION AND 50S-RIBOSOMAL-SUBUNIT FORMATION IN STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS CELLS BY 11 DIFFERENT KETOLIDE ANTIBIOTICS, Current microbiology (Print), 37(6), 1998, pp. 418-425
Eleven structurally similar ketolide antibiotics were tested at a conc
entration of 1 mu g/ml for their relative inhibitory effects on growth
and ribosome activities in Staphylococcus aureus cells. Ten of the co
mpounds examined had an inhibitory effect on protein synthesis at this
concentration and eight of the 11 compounds were also effective inhib
itors of the formation of the 50S ribosomal subunit. All of the drugs
tested inhibited protein synthesis to a greater extent than they affec
ted 50S subunit formation. The decline in growth rate and cell number
was proportional to the effect on ribosome formation and function. The
growth of an ermC erythromycin-resistant strain of S. aureus was also
significantly inhibited by nine ketolide compounds, suggesting that t
hey were not inducers of methylase gene expression. These inhibitory a
ctivities can be related to structural differences between these ketol
ide antibiotics.