This article deals with the specific Tetracycline antibiotic. For the group of antibiotics know as the Tetracyclines, see Category:Tetracycline_antibiotics.

Chemical structure of tetracycline. The name is obviously derived from the structure of the molecule.

Tetracycline is an antibiotic produced by the streptomyces bacterium, indicated for use against many bacterial infections. It is sold under the brand names Tetralysal 300®, Panmycin®, Brodspec® and Tetracap®, among others. It is also used to produce several semi-synthetic derivatives, which are known as the Tetracyclines.

History

Tetracycline was first discovered by Lloyd Conover in the research departments of Pfizer. The patent for Tetracycline was first issued in 1955 (patent number 2,699,054). Tetracycline sparked the development of many chemically altered antibiotics and in doing so has proved to be one of the most important discoveries made in the field of antiobiotics.

Mechanism and Resistance

Tetracycline inhibits cell growth by inhibiting translation. It binds to the 30S ribosomal subunit and prevents the amino-acyl tRNA from binding to the A site of the ribosome. The binding is reversible in nature.

Cells become resistant to tetracyline by at least two mechanisms: efflux and ribosomal protection. In efflux, a resistance gene encodes a membrane protein that actively pumps tetracycline out of the cell. This is the mechanism of action of the tetracycline resistance gene on the artificial plasmid pBR322. In ribosomal protection, a resistance gene encodes a protein which binds to the ribosome and prevents tetracycline from acting on the ribosome.

Contraindications

Tetracycline use should be avoided during pregnancy and in the very young (less than 6 years) because it will result in permanent staining of teeth causing an unsightly cosmetic result.