Polymyxins - Antibiotics for Multidrug-resistant Infections

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What are polymyxins used for?

Polymyxins comprise a class of antibiotics targeting gram-negative bacterial infections. Polymyxin B and Polymyxin E (colistin) are the two drugs within this antibiotic class used primarily in clinical practice.

Are polymyxins antibiotics?

Polymyxins are antibiotics. Polymyxins B and E (also known as colistin) are used in the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections. They work mostly by breaking up the bacterial cell membrane. They are part of a broader class of molecules called nonribosomal peptides .

What are Polymyxins B & E?

Polymyxins B and E (also known as colistin) are used in the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections. They work mostly by breaking up the bacterial cell membrane. They are part of a broader class of molecules called nonribosomal peptides . They are produced in nature by Gram-positive bacteria such as Paenibacillus polymyxa .

Is colistin a polymyxin?

Colistin (also known as polymyxin E) is a polypeptide antibiotic that was originally isolated in 1947 from the soil bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa subsp. colistinus ( 1 ). Colistin and polymyxin B belong to the class of polymyxins, which is one of the primary classes of antibiotics with activity against most Gram-negative bacteria.

What Is Polymyxins

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557540/
2. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/polymyxins-an-overview
3. https://www.britannica.com/science/polymyxin
4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/polymyxin
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32491472/

Polymyxins Information

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41429-022-00561-3
2. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-16373-0
3. https://research.monash.edu/en/publications/rescuing-the-last-line-polymyxins-achievements-and-challenges