Boromycin is a bacteriocidal polyether-

macrolide The Macrolides are a class of natural products that consist of a large macrocyclic lactone ring to which one or more deoxy sugars, usually cladinose and desosamine, may be attached. The lactone rings are usually 14-, 15-, or 16-membered. M ...

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy, ...

. It was initially isolated from the ''

Streptomyces antibioticus ''Streptomyces antibioticus'' (previously known as ''Actinomyces antibioticus'') is a gram-positive bacterium discovered in 1941 by Nobel-prize-winner Selman Waksman and H. Boyd Woodruff. Its name is derived from the Greek ''"strepto-"'' meaning ...

'', and is notable for being the first natural product found to contain the element boron. It is effective against most

Gram-positive In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. Gram-positive bac ...

bacteria, but is ineffective against

Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wa ...

bacteria. Boromycin kills bacteria by negatively affecting the cytoplasmic membrane, resulting in the loss of

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosp ...

ions from the cell.

Anti-HIV activity

Recent studies have suggested that boromycin has potent anti-HIV activity. It was found to strongly inhibit the replication of the clinically isolated HIV-1 strain as well as the cultured strain

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology and ...

. The

mechanism of action In pharmacology, the term mechanism of action (MOA) refers to the specific biochemical interaction through which a drug substance produces its pharmacological effect. A mechanism of action usually includes mention of the specific molecular tar ...

for the anti-HIV activity of boromycin is suggested to involve interfering with the later stage of HIV infection, and possibly the maturation step for the replication of HIV.

References

* * * * {{Protein_synthesis_inhibitor_antibiotics Macrolide antibiotics Tetrahydroxyborate esters Secondary alcohols Alkene derivatives Boron heterocycles Spiro compounds Lactones