Histidomycin. I. Production by Norcardia histidans and biological characterization.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E O Stapley.
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The cephamycins are a family of beta-lactam antibiotics that are produced by actinomycetes and are structurally similar to the cephalosporins. They are characterized by the presence of a 7-alpha-methoxyl group, which confers unusually high resistance to beta-lactamases. Cefoxitin, the first semisynthetic cephamycin, is resistant to almost all beta-lactamases. Cefoxitin retains the 3-carbamoyl group of cephamycin C and thus has excellent metabolic stability. Cefoxitin is bactericidal and almost devoid of any inoculum effect. Active against many cephalothin-resistant gram-negative bacteria, cefoxitin demonstrates a very broad spectrum that includes indole-positive Proteus and many strains of Serratia. In contrast to that of the cephalosporins, cefoxitin's spectrum of activity against anaerobic pathogens includes Bacteroides fragilis. The therapeutic effectiveness of cefoxitin in experimental infections in mice confirms the excellent characteristics of this semisynthetic cephamycin and indicates that it should be a very valuable agent for treatment of bacterial infections.
The authors review the procedure utilized for the naming of a new antibiotic. The cephamycins are taken as an example. Cefoxitin, derivative of the cephamycin C through an original chemical reaction is described. This antibiotic possesses a high degree of resistance to beta-lactamases due to the presence of a methoxy group in the 7alpha position of the beta-lactam ring. The results of extensive in-vitro trials are given, they indicate that cefoxitin has a unique antibacterial activity.