This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hill, G. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hill, G. B.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1977 April; 11(4): 625-630
Copyright © 1977 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Therapeutic Evaluation of Minocycline and Tetracycline for Mixed Anaerobic Infection in Mice

¹ Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Microbiology and Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710

ABSTRACT

Minocycline has demonstrated greater in vitro activity against anaerobic bacteria than its parent compound, tetracycline. In vivo therapeutic efficacy of the two drugs was tested against a mixed anaerobic infection in a mouse model. Fusobacterium necrophorum plus F. nucleatum injected intraperitoneally produced progressive intrahepatic and occasional extrahepatic abscesses, which were measured at autopsy. Three treatment regimens were tested, single daily doses of antibiotic being administered by oral gavage: four doses begun at 2 or 24 h after challenge and 14 doses begun 3 weeks after challenge when abscesses were well developed. Autopsy was not performed until several weeks after completion of treatment to assess long-term effects. Based on the number of mice without lesions, the median effective dose (ED₅₀) in milligrams per kilogram per dose for minocycline was significantly lower than that for tetracycline with each regimen tested. With the 2-h (immediate therapy) regimen and the 24-h-delayed therapy regimen, minocycline was 30 and 6 times, respectively, more effective against hepatic abscesses than tetracycline on a weight basis. With each antibiotic, abscesses outside the liver were more resistant to therapy, although again minocycline was more effective. In the treatment of developed abscesses (3-week-delayed regimen), minocycline was effective (ED₅₀ <16 mg/kg), whereas tetracycline was ineffective (ED₅₀ >256 mg/kg). Minocycline has demonstrated greater therapeutic efficacy in vivo than tetracycline in this experimental infection, which is similar, in certain aspects, to human anaerobic infection. These data support further evaluation of the clinical usefulness of minocycline.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Bosco, A., Inman, D. M., Steele, M. R., Wu, G., Soto, I., Marsh-Armstrong, N., Hubbard, W. C., Calkins, D. J., Horner, P. J., Vetter, M. L. (2008). Reduced Retina Microglial Activation and Improved Optic Nerve Integrity with Minocycline Treatment in the DBA/2J Mouse Model of Glaucoma. IOVS 49: 1437-1446 [Abstract] [Full Text]