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. 1979 May;15(5):716–722. doi: 10.1128/aac.15.5.716

Classification of Polyene Antibiotics According to Chemical Structure and Biological Effects

J Kotler-Brajtburg 1, G Medoff 1, G S Kobayashi 1, S Boggs 1, D Schlessinger 1, R C Pandey 2,†, K L Rinehart Jr 2
PMCID: PMC352743  PMID: 393163

Abstract

Fourteen polyene antibiotics and six of their semisynthetic derivatives were compared for their effects on potassium (K+) leakage and lethality or hemolysis of either Saccharomyces cerevisiae or mouse erythrocytes. These polyene antibiotics fell into two groups. Group I antibiotics caused K+ leakage and cell death or hemolysis at the same concentrations of added polyene. In this group fungistatic and fungicidal levels were indistinguishable. Group I drugs included one triene (trienin); tetraenes (pimaricin and etruscomycin); pentaenes (filipin and chainin); one hexaene (dermostatin); and one polyene antibiotic with unknown chemical structure (lymphosarcin). Group II antibiotics caused considerable K+ leakage at low concentrations and cell death or hemolysis at high concentrations. The fungistatic levels were clearly separable from fungicidal. This group included the heptaenes (amphotericin B, candicidin, aureofungin A and B, hamycin A and B), and five of their semisynthetic derivatives (amphotericin B methyl ester, N-acetyl-amphotericin B, hamycin A and B methyl esters, and N-acetyl-candicidin). Nystatin, classified as a tetraene, and its derivative, N-acetyl nystatin, also were in this group.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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