The bafilomycins are a family of toxic macrolide

Macrolide

The macrolides are a group of drugs whose activity stems from the presence of a macrolide ring, a large macrocyclic lactone ring to which one or more deoxy sugars, usually cladinose and desosamine, may be attached. The lactone rings are usually 14-, 15-, or 16-membered...

 antibiotic derived from Streptomyces griseus

Streptomyces griseus

Streptomyces griseus is a member bacterial species of the genus Streptomyces and are commonly found in soil. A few strains have been also reported from deep sea sediments. These are Gram positive bacterium with high GC content. Along with most other streptomycetes S...

. These compounds all appear in the same fermentation

Industrial fermentation

Industrial fermentation is the intentional use of fermentation by microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi to make products useful to humans. Fermented products have applications as food as well as in general industry.- Food fermentation :...

 and have quite similar biological activity. Bafilomycins are specific inhibitors of vacuolar-type H+-ATPase

V-ATPase

Vacuolar-type H+-ATPase is a highly conserved evolutionarily ancient enzyme with remarkably diverse functions in eukaryotic organisms. V-ATPases acidify a wide array of intracellular organelles and pump protons across the plasma membranes of numerous cell types...

.

The most used bafilomycin is bafilomycin A1. This is a useful tool as it can prevent the re-acidification of synaptic

Synaptic

Synaptic may refer to:*Synapse, part of the nervous system*Synapsis, the pairing of two homologous chromosomes*Synaptic , a Linux graphical package management program for APT See also...

 vesicles once they have undergone exocytosis.

Bafilomycin has antibacterial, antifungal

Antifungal

* Antifungal medication, a medication used to treat fungal infection s such as athlete's foot , ringworm, candidiasis, etc.* Antifungal protein, a protein family* an adjective referring to a fungicide compound...

, antineoplastic, immunosuppressive activities.In addition, bafilomycin A1 has antimalarial activity It has been shown to decrease multi-drug resistance.

Bafilomycin B1 has been mentioned as a potential antiosteoporotic agent

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is deteriorating, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone is altered...

in treating bone lytic diseases.