Cinnamycin (lanthiopeptin) is a high molecular weight tricyclic antibiotic produced by several species of Streptoverticillium. Cinnamycin is a potent indirect inhibitor of phospholipase A2, acting by specifically sequestering phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), a major component of the mammalian plasma cell membrane. Cinnamycin induces trans-bilayer phospholipid movement in cell membranes to expose internally bound PE. At high surface concentrations of PE, cinnamycin induces membrane reorganisation including membrane fusion and alteration of gross morphology.