The Nitrofuran-Warhead-Equipped Spirocyclic Azetidines Show Excellent Activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A series of 21 new 7'H-spiro[azetidine-3,5'-furo [3,4-d]pyrimidine]s substituted at the pyrimidine ring second position were synthesized. The compounds showed high antibacterial in vitro activity against M. tuberculosis. Two compounds had lower minimum inhibitory concentrations against Mtb (H37Rv strain) compared with isoniazid. The novel spirocyclic scaffold shows excellent properties for anti-tuberculosis drug development.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-(Tetrazol-5-yl)sulfonylacetamides as inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium marinum.

A series of 2-(tetrazol-5-yl)sulfonylacetamide derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and Mycobacterium marinum (Mm). The most active compounds exhibited in vitro MIC90 values of 1.25 µg/mL against Mtb, but they were less effective against Mm (MIC90 ≥ 10 µg/mL). Despite the most active compounds having favourable physicochemical properties and one of them having a half-life of ∼3 h when incubated with mouse liver microsomes, two representative highly active compounds showed strong chemical reactivity to cysteine derivatives, as surrogate in vivo sulfur-centred nucleophiles, indicating excessive electrophilicity, and therefore, likely indiscriminate chemical reactivity in vivo, representing an unacceptably high risk of general toxicity, and low likelihood of being therapeutically effective.

Clove Buds Volatile Compounds: Inhibitory Activity on Mycobacterium Growth and Molecular Docking on Mmr Efflux Pump Drug Resistance.

Syzygium aromaticum is used in traditional and modern medicine for its various and outstanding pharmacological properties. Here, we studied the chemical composition of hexane extract and non-polar fractions (NPF) obtained from the maceration and fractionation of clove buds, in order to evaluate their in vitro antimycobacterial activity, as well as their contribution against efflux pump (EP) resistance through molecular docking experiments. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the volatile profiles revealed the presence of eugenol, followed by eugenyl acetate, and ß-caryophyllene as common major compounds. According to Resazurin microtiter assay (REMA), Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37 Rv strain was sensitive to all volatile samples at concentration range between 10 and 100 µg/mL. The NPF of ethanol extract was the best inhibitor with a MIC=10 µg/mL. The in silico study revealed a strong binding affinity between eugenol and Mmr EP protein (-8.1 Kcal/mol), involving two binding modes of hydrogen bond and π-alkyl interactions. The non-polarity character of clove volatile constituents, and their potential additive or synergistic effects could be responsible for the antimycobacterial activity. In addition, these findings suggest the benefic effect of eugenol in the management of mycobacterium drug resistance, whether as potential inhibitor of Mmr drug EP, or modulator during combination therapy.

Synthesis, antitubercular evaluation, and molecular docking studies of hybrid pyridinium salts derived from isoniazid.

In the quest to develop potent inhibitors for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, novel isoniazid-based pyridinium salts were designed, synthesized, and tested for their antimycobacterial activities against the H37 Rv strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using rifampicin as a standard. The pyridinium salts 4k, 4l, and 7d showed exceptional antimycobacterial activities with MIC90 at 1 µg/mL. The in vitro cytotoxicity and pharmacokinetics profiles of these compounds were established for the identification of a lead molecule using in vivo efficacy proof-of-concept studies and found that the lead compound 4k possesses LC50 value at 25 µg/mL. The in vitro antimycobacterial activity results were further supported by in silico studies with good binding affinities ranging from -9.8 to -11.6 kcal/mol for 4k, 4l, and 7d with the target oxidoreductase DprE1 enzyme. These results demonstrate that pyridinium salts derived from isoniazid can be a potentially promising pharmacophore for the development of novel antitubercular candidates.

Characterization of Pyridomycin B Reveals the Formation of Functional Groups in Antimycobacterial Pyridomycin.

Pyridomycin, a cyclodepsipeptide with potent antimycobacterial activity, specifically inhibits the InhA enoyl reductase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Structure-activity relationship studies indicated that the enolic acid moiety in the pyridomycin core system is an important pharmacophoric group, and the natural configuration of the C-10 hydroxyl contributes to the bioactivity of pyridomycin. The ring structure of pyridomycin was generated by the nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) and polyketide synthase (PKS) hybrid system (PyrE-PyrF-PyrG). Bioinformatics analysis reveals that short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family protein Pyr2 functions as a 3-oxoacyl acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase in the pyridomycin pathway. Inactivation of pyr2 resulted in accumulation of pyridomycin B, a new pyridomycin analogue featured with enol moiety in pyridyl alanine moiety and a saturated 3-methylvaleric acid group. The elucidated structure of pyridomycin B suggests that rather than functioning as a post-tailoring enzyme, Pyr2 catalyzes ketoreduction to form the C-10 hydroxyl group in pyridyl alanine moiety and the double bond formation of the enolic acid moiety derived from isoleucine when the intermediate assembled by PKS-NRPS machinery is still tethered to the last NRPS module in a special energy-saving manner. Ser-His-Lys residues constitute the active site of Pyr2, which is different from the typically conserved Tyr-based catalytic triad in the majority of SDRs. Site-directed mutation identified that His154 in the active site is a critical residue for pyridomycin B production. These findings will improve our understanding of pyridomycin biosynthetic logic, identify the missing link for the double bound formation of enol ester in pyridomycin, and enable the creation of chemical diversity of pyridomycin derivatives. IMPORTANCE Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world's leading causes of death by infection. Recently, pyridomycin, the antituberculous natural product from Streptomyces has garnered considerable attention for being determined as a target inhibitor of InhA enoyl reductase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this study, we report a new pyridomycin analogue from mutant HTT12, demonstrate the essential role of a previously ignored gene pyr2 in pyridomycin biosynthetic pathway, and imply that Pyr2 functions as a trans ketoreductase (KR) contributing to the formation of functional groups of pyridomycin utilizing a distinct catalytic mechanism. As enol moiety are important for pharmaceutical activities of pyridomycin, our work would expand our understanding of the mechanism of SDR family proteins and set the stage for future bioengineering of new pyridomycin derivatives.

Structure-activity relationship of 2-aminodibenzothiophene pharmacophore and the discovery of aminobenzothiophenes as potent inhibitors of Mycobacterium smegmatis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide and its current treatments have been complicated with the emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB) strains. Therefore, the discovery of new antitubercular agents is in need to overcome this problem. In our efforts to discover novel candidates for the treatment of tuberculosis, we describe in this work in vitro activityagainstM. smegmatis for a series of aminated benzo-fused heterocycles, particularly, dibenzothiophene to explore the structure-activity relationship of 2-aminodibenzothiophene 3aa. From these studies, three compounds 5-aminobenzothiophene 3ia, 6-aminobenzothiophene 3ma (MIC: 0.78 µg/mL) and 5-aminobenzofuran 3ja (MIC: 1.56 µg/mL) were identified as potent inhibitors of M. smegmatis with low cytotoxicity. These results suggested the significance of these compounds 3ia, 3ja and 3ma for the future development of candidate agents to treat tuberculosis.

Novel heterocyclic 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives of fluoroquinolones as a potent antibacterial agent: Synthesis and computational molecular modeling.

Design and synthesis of novel series of 1,3,4-oxadiazoles containing FQs derivatives and screened their antibacterial, antimycobacterial properties. The synthesized compounds were characterized by different spectral techniques like IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, mass and elemental analysis. The results of the antimicrobial activity and compounds 6d, 6b, 6e, 6f and 6a demonstrated potent antibacterial activities with zone of inhibition of 42, 36, 37, 34 and 30 mm against S. aureus, E. faecalis, S. pneumoniae, E. coli and K. pneumoniae, respectively. 1,3,4-Oxadiazole derivatives 6a, 6b, 6 g were showed excellent antimycobacterial activity against M. smegmatis H37Rv with MICs 22.35, 16.20, 20.28 µg/mL, respectively. FQs 6d and 6b exhibited highest hydrogen bonding interactions with Asp83 (3.11 A˚), Ser80 (2.15 A˚) Asp27 (σ-σ), Arg87 (Π-Π), Arg87 (Π-Π), Ser80 (σ-σ), Ala84 (σ-σ) and binding energies ΔG = - 6.41, - 6.97 kcal/mol with active site of topoisomerase-IV from S. pneumoniae [4KPE]. We performed a computational investigation of compounds 6a-j for their absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) properties by using the Molinspiration, Molsoft toolkits. The ligands 6f, 6d and 6b reveal the highest pharmacokinetic properties and possess maximum drug-likeness model score 1.59, 1.46 and 1.23, respectively.

Development and Validation of Stability-Indicating Assay Method for a Novel Oxazolidinone (PH-192) with Anticonvulsant Activity by Using UHPLC-QToF-MS.

The treatment of seizure disorders with currently available pharmacotherapeutic agents is not optimal due to the failure of some patients to respond, coupled with occurrences of side effects. There is therefore a need for research into the development of new chemical entities as potential anticonvulsant agents, which are different structurally from the existing class of drugs. We recently identified a novel triazolyl-oxazolidinone derivative, PH-192, as a potential anticonvulsant agent. PH-192 demonstrated protection comparable to phenytoin against both chemically- and electrically-induced seizures in rodents with little or no central nervous system side effects. However, PH-192 did not exhibit protection beyond 30 min; therefore, we decide to investigate a stability-indicating assay of PH-192 in plasma and other solutions. A reliable and validated analytical method was developed to investigate the stability of PH-192 for 90 min in human plasma, acidic, basic, and oxidative conditions, using a Waters Acquity ultra high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) system with a quaternary Solvent Manager (H-Class). A simple extraction method indicated that PH-192 was stable in human plasma after 90 min at 37 °C, with more than 90% successfully recovered. Moreover, stress stability studies were performed, and degradants were identified using LC-QToF-MS under acidic, basic, and oxidative simulated conditions.

Stereochemical aspects in the synthesis of novel N-(purin-6-yl)dipeptides as potential antimycobacterial agents.

The synthesis of purine conjugates with natural amino acids is one of the promising directions in search for novel therapeutic agents, including antimycobacterial agents. The purpose of this study was to synthesize N-(purin-6-yl)dipeptides containing the terminal fragment of (S)-glutamic acid. To obtain the target compounds, two synthetic routes were tested. The first of them is based on coupling of N-(purin-6-yl)-(S)-amino acids to dimethyl (S)-glutamate in the presence of carbodiimide coupling agent followed by the removal of ester groups. However, it turned out that this coupling process was accompanied by racemization of the chiral center of N-(purin-6-yl)-α-amino acids and in all cases led to mixtures of (S,S)- and (R,S)-diastereomers (6:4). Individual (S,S)-diastereomers were obtained using an alternative approach based on the nucleophilic substitution of chlorine in 6-chloropurine or 2-amino-6-chloropurine with corresponding dipeptides as nucleophiles. The enantiomeric purity of the target compounds was confirmed by chiral HPLC. To test the assumption that racemization of the chiral center of N-(purin-6-yl)-α-amino acids occurs with the participation of nitrogen atoms of the imidazole ring via the stage of formation of a chirally labile intermediate, we obtained such structural analogs of N-(purin-6-yl)-(S)-alanine as N-(9-benzylpurin-6-yl)-(S)-alanine and N-(7-deazapurin-6-yl)-(S)-alanine. It was found that coupling of these compounds to dimethyl (S)-glutamate was also accompanied by racemization. This indicates that the imidazole fragment does not play a crucial role in this process. When testing the antimycobacterial activity of some of the obtained compounds, conjugates with moderate activity against the laboratory Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain (MIC 3.1-6.25 µg/mL) were identified.

Racemization-free synthesis of Nα-2-thiophenoyl-phenylalanine-2-morpholinoanilide enantiomers and their antimycobacterial activity.

Nα-2-thiophenoyl-D-phenylalanine-2-morpholinoanilide (MMV688845, IUPAC: N-(1-((2-morpholinophenyl)amino)-1-oxo-3-phenylpropan-2-yl)thiophene-2-carboxamide) from the Pathogen Box® library (Medicines for Malaria Ventures, MMV) is a promising lead compound for antimycobacterial drug development. Two straightforward synthetic routes to the title compound starting from phenylalanine or its Boc-protected derivative are reported. Employing Boc-phenylalanine as starting material and the T3P® and PyBOP® amide coupling reagents enables racemization-free synthesis, avoiding the need for subsequent separation of the enantiomers. The crystal structure of the racemic counterpart gives insight into the molecular structure and hydrogen bonding interactions in the solid state. The R-enantiomer of the title compound (derived from D-phenylalanine) exhibits activity against non-pathogenic and pathogenic mycobacterial strains, whereas the S-enantiomer is inactive. Neither of the enantiomers and the racemate of the title compound shows cytotoxicity against various mammalian cells.

The optimization and characterization of functionalized sulfonamides derived from sulfaphenazole against Mycobacterium tuberculosis with reduced CYP 2C9 inhibition.

In this study, a series of sulfonamide compounds was designed and synthesized through the systematic optimization of the antibacterial agent sulfaphenazole for the treatment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). Preliminary results indicate that the 4-aminobenzenesulfonamide moiety plays a key role in maintaining antimycobacterial activity. Compounds 10c, 10d, 10f and 10i through the optimization on phenyl ring at the R2 site on the pyrazole displayed promising antimycobacterial activity paired with low cytotoxicity. In particular, compound 10d displayed good activity (MIC = 5.69 µg/mL) with low inhibition of CYP 2C9 (IC50 > 10 µM), consequently low potential risk of drug-drug interaction. These promising results provide new insight into the combination regimen using sulfonamide as one component for the treatment of M. tuberculosis.

Semisynthetic Derivatives of Selected Amaryllidaceae Alkaloids as a New Class of Antimycobacterial Agents.

The search for novel antimycobacterial drugs is a matter of urgency, since tuberculosis is still one of the top ten causes of death from a single infectious agent, killing more than 1.4 million people worldwide each year. Nine Amaryllidaceae alkaloids (AAs) of various structural types have been screened for their antimycobacterial activity. Unfortunately, all were considered inactive, and thus a pilot series of aromatic esters of galanthamine, 3-O-methylpancracine, vittatine and maritidine were synthesized to increase biological activity. The semisynthetic derivatives of AAs were screened for their in vitro antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra and two other mycobacterial strains (M. aurum, M. smegmatis) using a modified Microplate Alamar Blue Assay. The most active compounds were also studied for their in vitro hepatotoxicity on the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2. In general, the derivatization of the original AAs was associated with a significant increase in antimycobacterial activity. Several pilot derivatives were identified as compounds with micromolar MICs against M. tuberculosis H37Ra. Two derivatives of galanthamine, 1i and 1r, were selected for further structure optimalization to increase the selectivity index.

Design, synthesis and antimycobacterial activity of new benzothiazinones inspired by rifampicin/rifapentine.

A series of novel benzothiazinone derivatives containing a N-((methylene)amino)piperazine moiety, inspired by rifampicin/rifapentine, were designed and synthesized. Seven compounds 1a and 1e-j show excellent in vitro activity against both drug-sensitive MTB strain H37Rv and drug-resistant clinical isolates (MIC: <0.029-0.110 µM), and accepted selective index (>1100->4000). Compound 1h displays good safety and pharmacokinetic profiles, suggesting its promising potential to be lead compound for future antitubercular drug discovery.

Design, synthesis and antimycobacterial activity of thiazolidine-2,4-dione-based thiosemicarbazone derivatives.

The two series of thiosemicarbazone derivatives with thiazolidine-2,4-dione (TZD) core were designed and synthesized. The antimycobacterial activity of the target compounds was tested against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra by broth microdilution method with resazurin as an indicator of the metabolic activity of mycobacteria. Conducted studies revealed antimycobacterial activity in the concentration range of 0.031-64 µg/ml for 31 synthesized derivatives with TZD core. The highest antimycobacterial activity (MIC = 0.031-0.125 µg/ml) was demonstrated for the new group of compounds: TZD-based hybrids with 4-unsubstituted thiosemicarbazone substituent. Furthermore, all the tested compounds within this group were characterized by low cytotoxicity. Among tested compounds, two compounds are the most promising potential antimycobacterial agents since they not only show very low MIC values, but also non-toxicity against Vero cells at tested concentration range. High effectiveness and safety of these synthesized compounds makes them promising candidates as antimycobacterial agents.

Flavanones from the Twigs and Barks of Artocarpus lakoocha Having Antiplasmodial and Anti-TB Activities.

Chromatographic separation of the acetone extracts from the twigs and barks of Artocarpus lakoocha led to the isolation of the one new flavanone, lakoochanone (1), together with eleven known compounds (2-12). Lakoochanone (1) and moracin C (4) exhibited weak antiplasmodial activity against Plasmodium falciparum Dd2 with IC50 values of 36.7 and 33.9 µM, respectively. Moreover, moracin C (4) and sanggenofuran B (5) showed cytotoxic activity against A2780 cell line with the respective IC50 values of 15.0 and 57.1 µM. In addition, cyclocommunin (7) displayed strong antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 12.3 µM.

Pyrazole-coumarin and pyrazole-quinoline chalcones as potential antitubercular agents.

Pyrazole, coumarin, and quinoline are medicinally important moieties. In this study, two series of novel pyrazole-coumarin chalcones and pyrazole-quinoline chalcones were synthesized using multiple-step reactions. All the synthesized compounds were well characterized using different spectroscopic techniques including 1 H and 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance, high-resolution mass spectroscopy, and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. The compounds were evaluated for their antitubercular activity against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain using the microplate Alamar Blue assay, and the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of the compounds were determined. Among the 32 tested compounds, compounds 3e, 3u, and 7h showed an MIC value of 3.125 µg/ml, and they were found to be nontoxic. Molecular docking studies of the compounds with the enzyme DprE1 revealed the probable mechanism of action. The chalcone derivatives exhibited binding affinity values between -7.047 and -9.353 kcal/mol. ADME parameters were predicted using the QikProp module of the Schrödinger software, and these compounds exhibited good pharmacological and oral absorption properties.

Does the Effectiveness and Mechanical Strength of Kanamycin-Loaded Bone Cement in Musculoskeletal Tuberculosis Compare to Vancomycin-Loaded Bone Cement.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) is used to deliver antimycobacterial agents into the focal lesion of musculoskeletal tuberculosis. Although kanamycin is currently used as an antimycobacterial agent for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, there is no information about its suitability in ALBC. METHODS: An in vitro experiment was conducted with cylindrical shape of 40 g of bone cement with 1, 2, and 3 g of kanamycin. Eluate (1 mL) was extracted from each specimen to measure the level of elution and antimycobacterial activity on days 1, 4, 7, 14, and 30. The quantity of kanamycin in eluates was evaluated by a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry system, and the antimycobacterial activity of eluates against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv was calculated by comparing the minimal inhibitory concentration. The ultimate compression strength was conducted using a material testing system machine (Instron 3366; Instron, Norwood, MA) before and after elution. RESULTS: Eluates from ALBC containing 2 and 3 g of kanamycin had effective antimycobacterial activity for 30 days, whereas eluates from ALBC containing 1 g of kanamycin were partially active until day 30. The pre-eluted compression strength of kanamycin-loaded cement and vancomycin-loaded cement was weaker as they contained a larger amount of antibiotics. There was no statistical difference between the strength of all kanamycin regimens and 1 g of vancomycin in the ultimate compression test. After 30 days of elution, the strength of all kanamycin-loaded cement and vancomycin-loaded cement cylinders was significantly lower than that of initial specimens (P < .05). CONCLUSION: The antimycobacterial activity of ALBC containing more than 2 g of kanamycin was effective during a 30-day period. The ultimate compression strength of bone cement loaded with 1-3 g of kanamycin was comparable with 1 g of vancomycin while maintaining effective elution until day 30.

Synthesis of Novel Sulfamethaoxazole 4-Thiazolidinone Hybrids and Their Biological Evaluation.

A search for potent antitubercular agents prompted us to design and synthesize sulfamethaoxazole incorporated 4-thiazolidinone hybrids (7a-l) by using a cyclocondensation reaction between 4-amino-N-(5-methylisoxazol-3-yl)benzenesulfonamide (4), aryl aldehyde (5a-l), and mercapto acetic acid (6) resulting in good to excellent yields. All the newly synthesized 4-thiazolidinone derivatives were screened for their in vitro antitubercular activity against M. Bovis BCG and M. tuberculosis H37Ra (MTB) strains. The compounds 7d, 7g, 7i, 7k, and 7l revealed promising antimycobacterial activity against M. Bovis and MTB strains with IC90 values in the range of 0.058-0.22 and 0.43-5.31 µg/mL, respectively. The most active compounds were also evaluated for their cytotoxicity against MCF-7, HCT 116, and A549 cell lines and were found to be non-cytotoxic. Moreover, the synthesized compounds were also analyzed for ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) properties and showed potential as good oral drug candidates.

N-Alkyl-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]hydrazine-1-carboxamides and Their Analogues: Synthesis and Multitarget Biological Activity.

Based on the isosterism concept, we have designed and synthesized homologous N-alkyl-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]hydrazine-1-carboxamides (from C1 to C18) as potential antimicrobial agents and enzyme inhibitors. They were obtained from 4-(trifluoromethyl)benzohydrazide by three synthetic approaches and characterized by spectral methods. The derivatives were screened for their inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) via Ellman's method. All the hydrazinecarboxamides revealed a moderate inhibition of both AChE and BuChE, with IC50 values of 27.04-106.75 µM and 58.01-277.48 µM, respectively. Some compounds exhibited lower IC50 for AChE than the clinically used drug rivastigmine. N-Tridecyl/pentadecyl-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]hydrazine-1-carboxamides were identified as the most potent and selective inhibitors of AChE. For inhibition of BuChE, alkyl chain lengths from C5 to C7 are optimal substituents. Based on molecular docking study, the compounds may work as non-covalent inhibitors that are placed in a close proximity to the active site triad. The compounds were evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and nontuberculous mycobacteria (M. avium, M. kansasii). Reflecting these results, we prepared additional analogues of the most active carboxamide (n-hexyl derivative 2f). N-Hexyl-5-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-amine (4) exhibited the lowest minimum inhibitory concentrations within this study (MIC ≥ 62.5 µM), however, this activity is mild. All the compounds avoided cytostatic properties on two eukaryotic cell lines (HepG2, MonoMac6).

Evaluation of Anti-Mycobacterial Compounds in a Silkworm Infection Model with Mycobacteroides abscessus.

Among four mycobacteria, Mycobacterium avium, M. intracellulare, M. bovis BCG and Mycobacteroides (My.) abscessus, we established a silkworm infection assay with My. abscessus. When silkworms (fifth-instar larvae, n = 5) were infected through the hemolymph with My. abscessus (7.5 × 107 CFU/larva) and bred at 37 °C, they all died around 40 h after injection. Under the conditions, clarithromycin and amikacin, clinically used antimicrobial agents, exhibited therapeutic effects in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, five kinds of microbial compounds, lariatin A, nosiheptide, ohmyungsamycins A and B, quinomycin and steffimycin, screened in an in vitro assay to observe anti-My. abscessus activity from 400 microbial products were evaluated in this silkworm infection assay. Lariatin A and nosiheptide exhibited therapeutic efficacy. The silkworm infection model with My. abscessus is useful to screen for therapeutically effective anti-My. abscessus antibiotics.