Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (585 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A cyclododecadepsipeptide ionophore antibiotic produced by Streptomyces fulvissimus and related to the enniatins. It is composed of 3 moles each of L-valine, D-alpha-hydroxyisovaleric acid, D-valine, and L-lactic acid linked alternately to form a 36-membered ring. (From Merck Index, 11th ed) Valinomycin is a potassium selective ionophore and is commonly used as a tool in biochemical studies.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Depsipeptides
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 2,657 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Valinomycin” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 33 of them (1.2%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 2,249 records.
Reviews account for 60 records (2.3%) and meta-analyses for 0. Randomized controlled trials number 0 (0.0%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 2,249 |
| 2000-2009 | 236 |
| 2010-2019 | 139 |
| 2020 onward | 33 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 60 | 2.3% |
| Meta-analyses | 0 | 0.0% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 0 | 0.0% |
Method: PubMed query "Valinomycin"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-parasitic compounds from Streptomyces sp. strains isolated from Mediterranean sponges | 2010 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 101 | cc by PMID 20390111 · DOI · PMC2852844 |
| Valinomycin biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces: conservation, ecology and evolution | 2009 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 37 | cc by PMID 19787052 · DOI · PMC2746310 |
| Mitochondrial uncouplers inhibit hepatic stellate cell activation | 2012 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 31 | cc by PMID 22686625 · DOI · PMC3439697 |
Anti-parasitic compounds from Streptomyces sp. strains isolated from Mediterranean sponges [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Actinomycetes are prolific producers of pharmacologically important compounds accounting for about 70% of the naturally derived antibiotics that are currently in clinical use.
- Closing excerpt
- These results underscore the potential of marine actinomycetes to produce bioactive compounds as well as the re-evaluation of previously known compounds for novel anti-infective activities.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (142 words)
Actinomycetes are prolific producers of pharmacologically important compounds accounting for about 70% of the naturally derived antibiotics that are currently in clinical use. In this study, we report on the isolation of Streptomyces sp. strains from Mediterranean sponges, on their secondary metabolite production and on their screening for anti-infective activities. Bioassay-guided isolation and purification yielded three previously known compounds namely, cyclic depsipeptide valinomycin, indolocarbazole alkaloid staurosporine and butenolide. This is the first report of the isolation of valinomycin from a marine source. These compounds exhibited novel anti-parasitic activities specifically against Leishmania major (valinomycin IC(50) < 0.11 microM; staurosporine IC(50) 5.30 microM) and Trypanosoma brucei brucei (valinomycin IC(50) 0.0032 microM; staurosporine IC(50) 0.022 microM; butenolide IC(50) 31.77 microM). These results underscore the potential of marine actinomycetes to produce bioactive compounds as well as the re-evaluation of previously known compounds for novel anti-infective activities.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 20390111 · DOI · PMC2852844
Valinomycin biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces: conservation, ecology and evolution [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Many Streptomyces strains are known to produce valinomycin (VLM) antibiotic and the VLM biosynthetic gene cluster (vlm) has been characterized in two independent isolates.
- Closing excerpt
- It is possible that the vlm gene cluster and the ces gene cluster may share a relatively distant common ancestor but these two gene clusters have since evolved independently.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (214 words)
Many Streptomyces strains are known to produce valinomycin (VLM) antibiotic and the VLM biosynthetic gene cluster (vlm) has been characterized in two independent isolates. Here we report the phylogenetic relationships of these strains using both parsimony and likelihood methods, and discuss whether the vlm gene cluster shows evidence of horizontal transmission common in natural product biosynthetic genes. Eight Streptomyces strains from around the world were obtained and sequenced for three regions of the two large nonribosomal peptide synthetase genes (vlm1 and vlm2) involved in VLM biosynthesis. The DNA sequences representing the vlm gene cluster are highly conserved among all eight environmental strains. The geographic distribution pattern of these strains and the strict congruence between the trees of the two vlm genes and the housekeeping genes, 16S rDNA and trpB, suggest vertical transmission of the vlm gene cluster in Streptomyces with no evidence of horizontal gene transfer. We also explored the relationship of the sequence of vlm genes to that of the cereulide biosynthetic genes (ces) found in Bacillus cereus and found them highly divergent from each other at DNA level (genetic distance values >or= 95.6%). It is possible that the vlm gene cluster and the ces gene cluster may share a relatively distant common ancestor but these two gene clusters have since evolved independently.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 19787052 · DOI · PMC2746310
Mitochondrial uncouplers inhibit hepatic stellate cell activation [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- BackgroundMitochondrial dysfunction participates in the progression of several pathologies.
- Closing excerpt
- These results therefore suggest mitochondrial uncoupling of HSCs as a strategy to reduce progression of liver fibrosis.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (229 words)
BackgroundMitochondrial dysfunction participates in the progression of several pathologies. Although there is increasing evidence for a mitochondrial role in liver disease, little is known about its contribution to hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation. In this study we investigated the role of mitochondrial activity through mild uncoupling during in vitro activation of HSCs.MethodsCultured primary human and mouse HSCs were treated with the chemical uncouplers FCCP and Valinomycin. ATP levels were measured by luciferase assay and production of reactive oxygen species was determined using the fluorescent probe DCFH-DA. Possible cytotoxicity by uncoupler treatment was evaluated by caspase 3/7 activity and cytoplasmic protease leakage. Activation of HSCs and their response to the pro-fibrogenic cytokine TGF-β was evaluated by gene expression of activation markers and signal mediators using RT-qPCR. Proliferation was measured by incorporation of EdU and protein expression of α-smooth muscle actin was analyzed by immunocytochemistry and western blot.ResultsFCCP and Valinomycin treatment mildly decreased ATP and reactive oxygen species levels. Both uncouplers increased the expression of mitochondrial genes such as Tfam and COXIV while inducing morphological features of quiescent mouse HSCs and abrogating TGF-β signal transduction. Mild uncoupling reduced HSC proliferation and expression of pro-fibrogenic markers of mouse and human HSCs.ConclusionsMild mitochondrial uncoupling inhibits culture-induced HSC activation and their response to pro-fibrogenic cytokines like TGF-β. These results therefore suggest mitochondrial uncoupling of HSCs as a strategy to reduce progression of liver fibrosis.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 22686625 · DOI · PMC3439697
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Valinomycin as a potential antiviral agent against coronaviruses: A review [4]
- Research article Molecular structure and mechanisms of action of cyclic and linear ion transport antibiotics [5]
- Research article Cereulide and valinomycin, two important natural dodecadepsipeptides with ionophoretic activities [6]
- Research article The kinetics of carrier-mediated ion permeation in lipid bilayers and its theoretical interpreatation [7]
- Research article Microbial toxin's effect on mitochondrial survival by increasing K+ uptake [8]
- Research article Biochemical applications of relaxation kinetics [9]
References
- Pimentel-Elardo SM, Kozytska S, Bugni TS, Ireland CM, Moll H, Hentschel U. Anti-parasitic compounds from Streptomyces sp. strains isolated from Mediterranean sponges. . 2010. PMID 20390111 · DOI · PMC2852844
- Matter AM, Hoot SB, Anderson PD, Neves SS, Cheng YQ. Valinomycin biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces: conservation, ecology and evolution. . 2009. PMID 19787052 · DOI · PMC2746310
- Guimarães EL, Best J, Dollé L, Najimi M, Sokal E, van Grunsven LA. Mitochondrial uncouplers inhibit hepatic stellate cell activation. . 2012. PMID 22686625 · DOI · PMC3439697
- Zhang D, Ma Z, Chen H, Lu Y, Chen X. Valinomycin as a potential antiviral agent against coronaviruses: A review. Biomed J. 2020. PMID 33012699 · DOI · PMC7417921
- Duax WL, Griffin JF, Langs DA, Smith GD, Grochulski P, Pletnev V, et al.. Molecular structure and mechanisms of action of cyclic and linear ion transport antibiotics. Biopolymers. 1996. PMID 8541445 · DOI
- Kroteń MA, Bartoszewicz M, Swiecicka I. Cereulide and valinomycin, two important natural dodecadepsipeptides with ionophoretic activities. Pol J Microbiol. 2010. PMID 20568524 · DOI
- Laprade R, Ciani S, Eisenman G, Szabo G. The kinetics of carrier-mediated ion permeation in lipid bilayers and its theoretical interpreatation. Membranes. 1975. PMID 1105058
- Saris NE, Andersson MA, Mikkola R, Andersson LC, Teplova VV, Grigoriev PA, et al.. Microbial toxin's effect on mitochondrial survival by increasing K+ uptake. Toxicol Ind Health. 2009. PMID 19736254 · DOI
- Malcolm AD. Biochemical applications of relaxation kinetics. Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 1975. PMID 792952 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.