Glycopeptides: Classification, Occurrence, and Discovery

The discovery of vancomycin was followed a year later by the isolation of ristocetin. The glycopeptides are complex molecules, characterized by a multiring peptide core containing six peptide linkages, an unusual triphenyl ether moiety, and sugars attached at various sites. Even though a number of glycopeptides have been discovered since the 1950s, vancomycin was the only member of this class introduced for clinical use until the recent approval of teicoplanin. Antibiotics of the vancomycin complex were the only representatives in this group until the last decade, when there was a dramatic increase in reports of new glycopeptides. All the antibiotics belonging to the glycopeptide class isolated thus far have originated from fermentations of actinomycetes. After the discovery of actaplanin in 1974 and teicoplanin in 1978, no new glycopeptides were reported until 1984. Vancomycin, the first and most important member of the glycopeptide family, has evolved as a useful antibiotic for human medicine since its discovery in 1956.