Streptomycin
Streptomycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic, and was the first of these to be discovered in 1943 by Albert Shatz.[1][2][3] The use of streptomycin involves the disruption of protein synthesis within the ribosome, preventing replication of bacteria.[4] It arises from the bacteria Streptomyces griseus and is majorly used in the treatment of infections from aerobic gram-negative bacteria.[1]
Uses
Streptomycin has been classified by the World Health Organisation as a critically important antimicrobial for human medicine.[5] The most common use of streptomycin today is the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.[1] The antibiotic has a variety of antibacterial activity which is beneficial for the treatment of a wide range of infections.[6] Other infections treated using streptomycin include pneumonia, Mycobacterium avium complex-MAC, E. coli influenza, plague, and tularemia.
Side effects
Common side effects of the use of streptomycin coincide with those seen with the use of other aminoglycoside antibiotics. These include both kidney and ear toxicity, alongside chronic kidney disease.[7] Other dangerous side effects of the use of this drug also include vestibular and auditory system disorders.[8]
Mechanism of action
The use of streptomycin involves the disruption of protein synthesis within the ribosome, preventing the replication of bacteria.[4] The antibiotic creates ionic bonds with the negatively charged sections of the bacterial cell membrane to access the inner cytoplasmic membrane.[9] Streptomycin is only effective against aerobic bacteria as an electron transport system used within the respiratory cycle is needed,[1] however, the antibiotic is able to inhibit both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.[10]
