The Sound of Evolution
Levofloxacin
Mechanism of action:
Levofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic and is the L-enantiomer of ofloxacin. Levofloxacin acts on DNA topoisomerases. Topoisomerase II is responsible for relieving the supercoiled structure generated during DNA replication, and inhibition of this enzyme by levofloxacin prevents DNA from being properly unwound and replicated. Topoisomerase IV is responsible for separating replicated DNA during cell division, and inhibition of this enzyme by levofloxacin results in failure of bacterial cell division.
Reference(s):
1. Fish DN et al. (1997). The clinical pharmacokinetics of levofloxacin. Clin Pharmacokinet.
2. Giri P et al. (2017). Evaluation of In Vitro Cytochrome P450 Inhibition and In Vitro Fate of Structurally Diverse N-Oxide Metabolites: Case Studies with Clozapine, Levofloxacin, Roflumilast, Voriconazole and Zopiclone. Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet.
3. Sato T et al. (2017). Potential Drug Interactions Mediated by Renal Organic Anion Transporter OATP4C1. J Pharmacol Exp Ther.