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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, October 2001, p. 2755-2764, Vol. 45, No. 10
Infectious Disease Division and Medical
Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School,
Boston, Massachusetts 02114-2696
Received 15 February 2001/Returned for modification 15 May
2001/Accepted 13 July 2001
Gatifloxacin, an 8-methoxyfluoroquinolone, was found to be
two- to fourfold more active against wild-type
Staphylococcus aureus ISP794 than its desmethoxy
derivative, AM-1121, and ciprofloxacin, another desmethoxy
fluoroquinolone. Single grlBA mutations caused two-
to fourfold increases in the MIC of gatifloxacin, and a single gyrase
mutation was silent. Double mutations in gyrA and
grlA or grlB caused a 32-fold increase in
the MIC of gatifloxacin, in contrast to a 128-fold increase for
ciprofloxacin and AM-1121. Overexpression of the NorA efflux pump
had minimal effect on the MIC of gatifloxacin. The bactericidal
activity of the three quinolones at four times the MIC differed only
for a double mutant, with gatifloxacin exhibiting a killing pattern
similar to that for ISP794, whereas ciprofloxacin and AM-1121 failed to
show any killing. With gatifloxacin, selection of resistant mutants at
twice the MIC was 100- to 1,000-fold less frequent than with
the comparison quinolones, and mutants could rarely be selected at four
times the MIC. The limit resistance in ISP74 was 512 times the MIC of gatifloxacin and 1,024 times the MICs of ciprofloxacin and AM-1121. Novel mutations in topoisomerase IV were selected in five of the six single-step mutants, three of which were shown to cause quinolone resistance by genetic studies. In conclusion, topoisomerase IV is the
primary target of gatifloxacin. In contrast to comparison quinolones,
mutations in both topoisomerase IV and gyrase are required for
resistance to gatifloxacin by clinical breakpoints and do not abolish
bactericidal effect, further supporting the benefit of the 8-methoxy
substituent in gatifloxacin.
0066-4804/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AAC.45.10.2755-2764.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Mechanisms and Frequency of Resistance to Gatifloxacin in
Comparison to AM-1121 and Ciprofloxacin in
Staphylococcus aureus
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Infectious
Disease Division, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St., Boston, MA 02114-2696. Phone: (617) 726-3812. Fax: (617) 726-7416. E-mail: dhooper{at}partners.org.
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