beta-lactamase
noun
be·ta-lac·ta·mase ˈbā-tə-ˈlak-tə-ˌmās 
-ˌmāz
: any of various bacterial enzymes that inactivate the penicillins and cephalosporins by hydrolyzing them
When confronted with an antibiotic, a number of disease-causing bacteria will retaliate by making an enzyme called beta-lactamase …
Diana Morgan and Terence Monmaney
Diana Morgan and Terence Monmaney
Word History
Etymology
lactam, a cyclic amide (from International Scientific Vocabulary lact- + amide) + -ase
First Known Use
1963, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
beta-lactamase
noun
be·ta-lac·ta·mase
variants also β-lactamase
-ˈlak-tə-ˌmās, -ˌmāz
: any of various bacterial enzymes that inactivate beta-lactam antibiotics (such as penicillin and cephalosporin) by hydrolyzing them compare penicillinase
When confronted with an antibiotic, a number of disease-causing bacteria will retaliate by making an enzyme called beta-lactamase … Diana Morgan and Terence Monmaney, Science
Diana Morgan and Terence Monmaney, ScienceThe most common mechanism of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics is the bacterial production of an enzyme called β-lactamase, which breaks one of the antibiotic's chemical bonds, changing its structure and preventing it from inhibiting the enzyme transpeptidase. K. C. Nicolaou et al., Scientific American
K. C. Nicolaou et al., Scientific AmericanNote: Beta-lactamase was originally used only to refer to bacterial enzymes that inactivated penicillin. As additional types of beta-lactam antibiotics were introduced, other bacterial beta-lactamases were identified.