J. White, M. Astill, P. Lawrence
Feb 1, 1979
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Influential Citations
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Journal
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
Abstract
Cephapirin was utilized to examine the interaction of β-lactam antibiotics with growing Bacillus subtilis cells and the biological effects simultaneously produced. Saturation binding and quantitative cell death were observed at the cephapirin concentration of 0.1 μg/ml. Cephapirin bound to all penicillin-binding proteins except the d-alanine carboxypeptidase. A specific [14C]benzylpenicillin-binding assay was developed for the d-alanine carboxypeptidase. At the lowest saturating concentration of antibiotic (0.1 μg/ml), cephapirin inhibited formation of the d-alanine carboxypeptidase. Upon incubation with cephapirin, 18% of the membranous d-alanine carboxypeptidase was released into the media. The data suggest that β-lactam antibiotics may affect the formation of bacterial cytoplasmic membranes in addition to their effect on cell wall synthesis.