Defining penicillin-binding protein function

CHED 222

Hilary Stevenson and Kimberly M. Specht, spechtk@denison.edu. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Denison University, Granville, OH 43023
Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) catalyze the synthesis of peptidoglycan, the structural component found in bacterial cell walls. They are targeted by β-lactam antibiotics and as a result, constitute an important area of study, especially with regards to multi-drug resistance. Each type of β-lactam binds preferentially to one or more types of PBPs, giving rise to a characteristic inhibition pattern. Identifying the characteristic inhibition patterns of well studied E. coli PBPs by a set of β-lactams would be useful in identifying the same types of PBPs in other bacterial species on the basis of inhibition. Studies comparing PBPs using fluorescently-labelled penicillin derivatives will be described.