Efficacious Analogs of the Lantibiotic Mutacin 1140 against a Systemic Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection.

Mutacin 1140, a member of the epidermin family of type AI lantibiotics, has a broad spectrum of activity against Gram-positive bacteria. It blocks cell wall synthesis by binding to lipid II. Although it has rapid bactericidal effects and potent activity against Gram-positive pathogens, its rapid clearance and short half-life in vivo limit its development in the clinic. In this study, we evaluated the effect of charged and dehydrated residues on the pharmacokinetics of mutacin 1140. The dehydrated residues were determined to contribute to the stability of mutacin 1140, while alanine substitutions for the lysine or arginine residues improved the pharmacological properties of the antibiotic. Analogs K2A and R13A had significantly lower clearances, leading to higher plasma concentrations over time. They also had improved bioactivities against several pathogenic bacteria. In a murine systemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection model, a 10-mg/kg single intravenous bolus injection of the K2A and R13A analogs (1:1 ratio) protected 100% of the infected mice, while a 2.5-mg/kg dose resulted in 50% survival. The 10-mg/kg treatment group had a significant reduction in bacteria load in the livers and kidneys compared to that in the vehicle control group. The study provides lead compounds for the future development of antibiotics used to treat systemic Gram-positive infections.

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic evaluation of the lantibiotic MU1140.

Presented are the pharmacokinetics (PK), exposure-response relationship, and the PK/pharmacodynamic (PD) index predictive of maximum therapeutic efficacy for the lantibiotic MU1140. MU1140, at a dose of 12.5 or 25 mg/kg, was administered intravenously, to characterize its PK parameters in rat. The recently developed in vitro PD model of MU1140 activity was enhanced by incorporation of the PK of MU1140 in rat. The linked PK/PD model was used in a simulation study to determine the PK/PD index predictive of in vivo efficacy. MU1140 total plasma concentration-time profiles declined biexponentially with elimination terminal half-life of 1.6 +/- 0.1 h. Rapid injection of MU1140 was associated with a hypersensitivity reaction that can be blocked by premedication with diphenhydramine. The simulation study revealed that Staphylococcus aureus concentrations correlated with T > MIC making it the PK/PD index best predictive of efficacy. Collectively, these findings suggest that the best route of administration of MU1140 is slow infusion which will increase the time its concentration remains above the MIC, thus maximizing the therapeutic effect and minimizing the observed toxicity.

Development and validation of a LC-MS quantification method for the lantibiotic MU1140 in rat plasma.

This study reports the first ever development and validation of a quantification method for a lantibiotic in plasma. This method was developed for the quantification of total MU1140 in Sprague Dawley rat plasma. The procedure involved acidification of plasma samples with formic acid followed by precipitation of plasma proteins using isopropanol, filtration, and analysis by RPLC-MS. The lantibiotic gallidermin was used as an internal standard (ISTD). The analyte and ISTD were eluted using a gradient of isopropanol and water, both acidified with 0.3% formic acid (v/v), at a flow rate of 250 microl/min. Positive electrospray ionization was utilized at the ion source and the analyte and ISTD were both detected by selected-ion monitoring (SIM). Total run time was 15 min. This method was validated for selectivity, sensitivity, linearity, recovery, accuracy, and precision. The method was shown to be selective, with a quantitative linear range of 0.39-100 microg/ml using 25 microl samples. The bias, intra- and inter-day percent relative standard deviation at all concentrations tested was lower than 15%. MU1140 mean extraction recovery was 96.1%. The analyte was shown to be stable to freeze/thaw and for short- and long-term storage. Extracted MU1140 was stable at 4 degrees C for over 5 days. This method was successfully applied to a preliminary pharmacokinetic study of intravenously administered MU1140 in Sprague Dawley rats. Overall, this method was shown to be applicable for quantification of MU1140 in plasma samples for the purpose of further MU1140 ADME or bioequivalence studies.

Molecular pharmacology and antitumor activity of PX-866, a novel inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase signaling.

We have developed biologically stable semisynthetic viridins as inhibitors of phosphoinositide (PtdIns)-3-kinases. The most active compound was PX-866 (acetic acid (1S,4E,10R,11R,13S,14R)-[4-diallylaminomethylene-6-hydroxy-1-methoxymethyl-10,13-dimethyl-3,7,17-trioxo-1,3,4,7,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17-dodecahydro-2-oxa-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-11-yl ester), which inhibited purified PtdIns-3-kinase with an IC50 of 0.1 nmol/L and PtdIns-3-kinase signaling measured by phospho-Ser473-Akt levels in HT-29 colon cancer cells with an IC50 of 20 nmol/L. PX-866 administered to mice at 10 mg/kg inhibited phospho-Ser473-Akt in HT-29 colon tumor xenografts up to 80% with recovery taking >48 hours after p.o. administration but more rapidly after i.v. or i.p. administration. PX-866 was eliminated from mouse plasma with a half-life of 18 minutes and a clearance of 360 mL/min/kg following i.v. administration and, when administered i.p. or p.o., showed first-pass metabolism with sequential N-deallylation. Synthetic standards of the N-deallylated metabolites of PX-866 inhibited PtdIns-3-kinase at low nanomolar per liter concentrations. PX-866 exhibited in vivo antitumor activity against s.c. OvCar-3 human ovarian cancer and A-549 human lung cancer xenografts in immunodeficient mice with log cell kills up to 1.2. PX-866 also increased the antitumor activity of cisplatin against A-549 xenografts and radiation treatment against OvCar-3 xenografts. The results show that PX-866 is a biologically stable broad-spectrum PtdIns-3-kinase inhibitor with good pharmacokinetics that causes prolonged inhibition of PtdIns-3-kinase signaling in human tumor xenografts. PX-866 exhibits single agent in vivo antitumor activity and increases the antitumor effects of cisplatin and radiation treatment.

Effect of a staphylococcin on Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Phage group 2 staphylococcal strain UT0002 contains a large 56S virulence plasmid with genes that code for both exfoliative toxin and a specific staphylococcin termed Bac R(1). Four penicillinase-producing strains and three penicillin-susceptible strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae were killed by Bac R(1). After 30 min of growth of the penicillin-resistant TR1 strain in 62.5 arbitrary units of Bac R(1) per ml, loss of viability was approximately 90%, and, after 5 h, an approximately 99.99% loss of viability was observed. Lysis did not accompany cell death, and 84% of the Bac R(1) added to the growth medium was adsorbed to the gonococcal cells. The extracellular supernatant fluid from a substrain of staphylococcal strain UT0002 cured of the plasmid for Bac R(1) production had no lethal effect on the gonococcal strains. Bac R(1) was also shown to have bactericidal activity against an L-form of N. meningitidis, indicating that the outer envelope of a neisserial cell is not needed for bacteriocin activity. Ten different normal human sera were unable to neutralize Bac R(1) activity. The bacteriocin lacks adsorption specificity. It binds to but does not kill Escherichia coli cells, indicating that the cell envelope of gram-negative organisms can provide protection against the staphylococcin.

Staphylococcal micrococcins. III. Antibacterial and therapeutic properties.

Micrococcin M, micrococcin M1 and eight micrococcin M derivatives, and two peptide antibiotics produced by micrococci and staphylococci were investigated for their antibacterial activity and therapeutic value. These antibiotics appeared to act solely on Gram-positive bacteria, especially on staphylococci and streptococci, in quite low concentrations in vitro and exerting both bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects. Gram-negative bacteria were virtually not susceptible. Resistance to micrococcins developed very rapidly, due to existence of numerous primarily resistant cells in sensitive populations. Complete cross-resistance resulted from acquiring resistance to one of the micrococcin antibiotics. Therapeutic effects are poor, as micrococcins are not absorbed from the injection site or from the intestinal tract after peroral administration. Importance of micrococcins in nature may be high, especially when ecology of normal bacterial flora and carriage of staphylococci and streptococci are concerned.