Cinnamycin is a tricyclic antibiotic.

Cinnamycin, a tetracyclic lantibiotic, is produced from S. cinnamoneus containing four unusual amino acids: mesolanthionine, erythro-β-hydroxyaspartic acid, threo-β-methyllanthionine and lysinoalanine.

In vitro: A previous study indicated that cinnamycin could exclusively bind to ethanolamine phospholipids, such as PE and ethanolamine plasmalogen. Model membrane study showed that the binding of cinnamycin to PE-containing liposomes was dependent on membrane curvature. The binding of cinnamycin to multilamellar liposomes induced tubulation of membranes, as demonstrated by electron microscopy and small-angle x-ray scattering [1].

In vivo: Up to now, there is no animal in vivo data reported.

Clinical trial: A retrospective survey of patients treated with clindamycin for a soft tissue infection was conducted to evaluated whether the incidence of serious side effects was sufficient to preclude the use of this antibiotic. Thirteen patients were found to have severe diarrhoea and 2 of these required inpatient treatment. Certain limitations of the use of clindamycin were suggested but, it was concluded that cinnamycin still has a useful role to play in the treatment of acute soft tissue infection [2].

References:
[1] Iwamoto K, Hayakawa T, Murate M, Makino A, Ito K, Fujisawa T, Kobayashi T.  Curvature-dependent recognition of ethanolamine phospholipids by duramycin and cinnamycin. Biophys J. 2007 Sep 1;93(5):1608-19.
[2] Wilson DH.  Clindamycin in the treatment of soft tissue infections: a review of 15 019 patients. Br J Surg. 1980 Feb;67(2):93-6.