glycopeptide

1 7.8

A medicine made of a small protein joined to a sugar that kills bacteria

noun
/ˌɡlaɪkoʊˈpɛptaɪd/

Specialized

: glucopéptido

Prior to 1995, Denmark (and many other European Union countries) widely used avoparcin, a glycopeptide closely related to vancomycin, as a growth promoter.
glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin
avoparcin, a glycopeptide
glycopeptide-resistant

Examples

In addition, a comprehensive array of abnormally O-glycosylated mucin-derived glycopeptides has been used for seromic profiling of colorectal cancer patients.

Academic text (2016)
Bacteria with the same resistance patterns were also identified in animals from both a pig farm and a poultry farm where avoparcin (another glycopeptide) was used as a food additive.

Academic text (2000)
Vancomycin is a glycopeptide, as is the veterinary drug avoparcin, and resistance to one will confer resistance to the other.

Academic text (2000)
In one case, researchers investigated the presence of Enterococcus faecium strains resistant to glycopeptides (such as vancomycin) in a hospital setting.

Academic text (2000)
Frequently, protocols include an enrichment step for glycopeptides carrying the glycans of interest, prior to nanoLC tandem MS analysis, facilitating glycosite mapping.

Academic text (2016)
In addition, glycopeptide-resistant E. faecium (vanA type) was detected in five of thirteen samples of raw meat from pigs originating from thirteen different butcher's shops.

Academic text (2000)
Another researcher investigated the occurrence and spread of non-nosocomial high-level glycopeptide-resistant, vancomycin-resistant A-positive E. faecium strains.

Academic text (2000)
Vancomycin, a well-known glycopeptide, is commonly used to treat serious infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
In the laboratory, researchers studied the effectiveness of several glycopeptides against various strains of bacteria.
The use of glycopeptides in medicine has increased significantly due to their ability to combat resistant infections.

Surface Forms

glycopeptide singular

glycopeptides plural

Morphology

glycopeptide = peptide (semi-transparent) = glyco + peptide

Formed by the biomedical combining form 'glyco-' (meaning 'sugar') attached to 'peptide', so the structure is compositional but requires specialized biochemical knowledge of the combining form.

Etymology

Glycopeptide comes from two parts: glyco- ('sugar') and peptide ('small protein'). So, a glycopeptide is a small protein with a sugar attached, which is exactly what these molecules are and why some are used as antibiotics.