EFFECT OF METHICILLIN ON THE PHOSPHOLIPID CONTENT OF METHICILLIN SENSITIVE STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 27  (1) , 31-40
Abstract
The effects of methicillin at concentrations of 1 .mu.g/ml (= 1/2 .times. minimum inhibitory concentration) and 2 .mu.g/ml (= 1 .times. MIC) on the phospholipid content of methicillin-sensitive S. aureus 5814S growing exponentially were studied. During 2-h treatment 1/2 .times. MIC of methicillin induced a significant increase in the phospholipid content of the cocci; accumulation of acid phospholipids was prevalent. Addition of 1 .times. MIC of methicillin to the cultures resulted in significantly less phospholipids in the cocci compared with that of the control cultures. There were alterations in the amounts of individual phospholipids during treatment. The phosphatidid acid (PA) and diphosphatidylglycerol-cardiolipin (DPG) contents were significantly reduced in the 1st h, then reached the control values by the end of the 2nd h of exposure. An opposite change was found in the amount of lysylphosphatidylglycerol (LPG), whereas the phosphatidylglycerol (PG) level was significantly lower in the treated cultures than in the controls of corresponding age. Phospholipid synthesis seems to be 1 of the sites of the action of methicillin in S. aureus.

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