ristocetin

Ristocetin is a glycopeptide antibiotic originally isolated from the bacterium *Amycolatopsis lurida* in the 1950s. It functions by inhibiting bacterial cell wall synthesis through binding to the D-alanyl-D-alanine terminus of peptidoglycan precursors, a mechanism of action similar to that of vancomycin. Although it was initially developed and marketed to treat staphylococcal and other Gram-positive bacterial infections, it was discontinued for clinical therapeutic use in the early 1960s due to severe adverse effects, including thrombocytopenia and platelet agglutination. Today, ristocetin is primarily utilized as a diagnostic laboratory reagent in the ristocetin cofactor assay. In this role, it facilitates the interaction between von Willebrand factor (vWF) and the platelet glycoprotein Ib (GpIb) receptor, inducing platelet aggregation to help diagnose von Willebrand disease and Bernard-Soulier syndrome.

Brand names

Spontin

Other names

ristocetin Aristocetin Bristomycin III