Biological activities gram negative bacteria

Lipid A constitutes the covalently bound lipid component and the least variable component of LPS (25). It anchors LPS to the bacterial cell by hydrophobic and electrostatic forces and mediates or contributes to many of the functions and activities that LPS exerts in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. In the following sections, the primary structure of lipid A of different Gram-negative bacteria is described, together with some of its characteristic biological properties. Furthermore, this article describes some of the principal methods that have been used for the structural analysis of lipid A and discusses their merits and limitations. 

Endotoxin. Endotoxin is the lipopolysaccharide that comprises a major portion of the cell wall of the gram-negative bacteria. The endotoxins from each species of bacteria are different but the lipid A moiety is similar for the Enterobacterlaceae, and has a similar series of biological actions regardless of its source. The lipid A material is different in some of the gram-negative rods present in cotton (i.e. in the Pseudomonas species). This variety of compounds makes quantitation of endotoxin difficult. Hence, it is usually measured by its biological activity as compared to a standard endotoxin (usually that of E. coll). (See Table VIII.)... 

Biological Properties. In marked contrast to the antibacterially inactive pcnicillanic and ccphalosporanic acids, 6-unsubstitutcd pcncms exhibit good activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. 

Structure—Activity Relationships. Biological evaluation of penicillins yields information such as in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), protective effectiveness in laboratory animals (PD50), and pharmacokinetic characteristics including efficiency of absorption, serum levels, tissue distribution, urinary excretion, recycling, etc. Penicillins are also tested for ability to resist inactivation by (S-lactamase produced by both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria,... 

---