Cell Wall/Treatment
This species lacks a peptidoglycan cell wall, like all Mollicutes. Instead, it has a cell membrane that incorporates sterol compounds, similar to eukaryotic cells. It obtains these sterols from the host serum, allowing it to retain a simple structure. Lacking a cell wall, these organisms are resistant to the effects of penicillins and other beta-lactam antibiotics, which act by disrupting the bacterial cell wall. Antibiotics with activity against these organisms include certain macrolides (erythromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin), fluoroquinolones and their derivatives (e.g., ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin), and tetracyclines (e.g., doxycycline).
Read more about this topic: Mycoplasma Pneumoniae
Famous quotes containing the words cell, wall and/or treatment:
“Why inspire in us a horror of our being?... To look upon the universe as a prison cell and all men as criminals about to be executed is the idea of a fanatic.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)
“I make myself this time
Of wood or granite or lime
A wall too hard for crime
Either to breach or climb....”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“[17th-century] Puritans were the first modern parents. Like many of us, they looked on their treatment of children as a test of their own self-control. Their goal was not to simply to ensure the child’s duty to the family, but to help him or her make personal, individual commitments. They were the first authors to state that children must obey God rather than parents, in case of a clear conflict.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)