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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 2006, p. 1376-1383, Vol. 50, No. 4
0066-4804/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AAC.50.4.1376-1383.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin
Received 13 September 2005/ Returned for modification 6 November 2005/ Accepted 9 January 2006
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The goals of our experiments were to characterize the in vivo time course antimicrobial activity of PPI-0903 and determine the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) index and index magnitude predictive of efficacy to provide guidance for dosing regimen design in human studies.
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In vitro susceptibility studies. The MICs of PPI-0903 M, penicillin, methicillin, and cefotaxime for the various isolates were determined by standard Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute broth microdilution methods (15).
Murine thigh infection model. Animals were maintained in accordance with the American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care criteria (16). All animal studies were approved by the Animal Research Committee of the William S. Middleton Memorial VA Hospital.
Six-week-old, specific-pathogen-free, female ICR/Swiss mice weighing 23 to 27 g were used for all studies (Harlan Sprague-Dawley, Indianapolis, IN). Mice were rendered neutropenic (neutrophils < 100/mm3) by injecting cyclophosphamide (Mead Johnson Pharmaceuticals, Evansville, IN) intraperitoneally 4 days (150 mg/kg) and 1 day (100 mg/kg) before thigh infection. Previous studies have shown that this regimen produces neutropenia in this model for 5 days (4). A small group of mice were not treated with cyclophosphamide, in order to determine the impact of normal neutrophil counts on efficacy. Broth cultures of freshly plated bacteria were grown to logarithmic phase to an absorbance of 0.3 at 580 nm (Spectronic 88; Bausch and Lomb, Rochester, N.Y.). After a 1:10 dilution into fresh MH broth, bacterial counts of the inoculum ranged from 106.6 to 108.7 CFU/ml. Thigh infections with each of the isolates were produced by injection of 0.1 ml of inoculum into the thighs of halothane-anesthetized mice 2 h before therapy with PPI-0903.
Murine lung infection model. Stationary-phase broth cultures of Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 43816 were obtained by overnight incubation. Cultures were centrifuged at 10,000 x g for 20 min and washed twice with 0.85% NaCl before being resuspending in 100 ml of 0.85% NaCl. Diffuse pneumonia in mice was produced by a 45-min exposure to an aerosol of 108.0 CFU/ml produced by a Collison nebulizer set at a rate of 4 to 5 liter/min. Antimicrobial therapy was initiated 14 h after the infection procedure. Two mice were used for each treatment regimen.
Drug pharmacokinetics. Single-dose serum pharmacokinetic studies were performed in mice in the thigh infection model given subcutaneous doses (0.2 ml/dose) of PPI-0903 (1.56, 6.25, 25, and 100 mg/kg of body weight). For each of the doses examined, two groups of three mice were sampled by retroorbital puncture at 0.25- to 1-h intervals over 6 h (sample times included 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 6 h). Individual animals were sampled three or four times. The total volume collected from individual animals was less than 10% of the total blood volume. Samples were then centrifuged for 5 min at 10,000 x g, and serum was removed. Serum PPI-0903 concentrations were determined by microbiologic assay using E. coli NIH-J as the test organism and noble agar as the diffusion medium. The lower limit of detection of this assay was 0.12 µg/ml. Intraday variation was less than 7%. All pharmacokinetic studies were performed on the same day. Pharmacokinetic indices, including elimination half-life, area under the concentration-time curve (AUC), and peak level, were calculated using a noncompartmental model. For doses used in treatments for which actual kinetic measurements were not made, estimates were based upon linear extrapolation from the four studied dose levels. Protein binding in the serum of neutropenic infected mice was analyzed using ultrafiltration methods (9, 12). The degree of binding was measured using PPI-0903 concentrations of 10 and 100 µg/ml.
Treatment protocols. (i) In vivo time kill and PAEs. Two hours after infection in the thigh with S. pneumoniae ATCC 10813, S. aureus ATCC 29213, or E. coli ATCC 25922, neutropenic mice were treated with single subcutaneous doses of PPI-0903 (1.56, 6.25, 25, or 100 mg/kg). Control growth was determined at four sampling times (two mice per time point) over 12 h (at 0, 2, 6, and 12 h). The treated groups (two mice per time point) were sampled nine times over 24 h (at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 h). The thighs were removed at each time point and processed immediately for CFU determination. The times that the levels of PPI-0903 (free drug) in the serum remained above the MIC (%T>MICs) for the organisms were calculated from the pharmacokinetic studies based upon a linear extrapolation from the peak serum level. The postantibiotic effect (PAE) was calculated by subtracting the time it took for organisms to increase 1 log in the thighs of saline-treated animals from the time it took organisms to grow the same amount in treated animals after serum drug levels fell below the MIC for the infecting organism (7). The formula for calculating the PAE was as follows: PAE = T C, where C is the time for 1 log10 of control growth and T is the time for 1 log10 of treatment growth after levels had fallen below the MIC.
(ii) PK-PD index determination. Neutropenic mice were infected with either penicillin-susceptible S. pneumoniae ATCC 10813, methicillin-resistant S. aureus ATCC 33591, or K. pneumoniae ATCC 43816. Treatment with PPI-0903 was initiated 2 h after infection. Groups of two mice were treated for 24 h with 20 different dosing regimens using twofold-increasing total doses divided into one, two, four, or eight doses. Total doses of PPI-0903 ranged more than 256-fold against each organism (0.39 to 100 mg/kg/24 h for S. pneumoniae and S. aureus and 6.25 to 1,600 mg/kg/24 h for K. pneumoniae). Drug doses were administered subcutaneously in 0.2-ml volumes. The mice were sacrificed after 24 h of therapy, and the thighs were removed and processed for CFU determination. Untreated control mice were sacrificed just before treatment and after 24 h.
(iii) PK-PD index magnitude studies. Similar dosing studies using six fourfold-increasing PPI-0903 doses administered every 6 h were utilized to treat neutropenic animals infected in the thigh with five strains of S. pneumoniae (one penicillin susceptible, one with intermediate sensitivity, and three penicillin resistant), four strains of S. aureus (two methicillin susceptible and two methicillin-resistant [MRSA]), and four gram-negative strains (two Escherichia coli and two Klebsiella pneumoniae strains). The PPI-0903 MICs for the organisms studied varied 250-fold. The total daily dose of PPI-0903 used in these studies varied from 0.40 to 1,600 mg/kg/24 h. In treatment against the gram-negative organisms, the starting dose level was 1.56 mg/kg. For all other organisms, the starting dose level was 0.10 mg/kg.
Data analysis. The results of these studies were analyzed using the sigmoid dose-effect model. The model is derived from the Hill equation: E = (Emax x DN)/(ED50N + DN), where E is the effect or in this case the log change in CFU per thigh or lung, comparing treated mice and untreated controls after the 24-hour period of study. Emax is the maximum effect. D is the 24-hour total dose. ED50 is the dose required to achieve 50% of the Emax, and N is the slope of the dose-effect curve. The indices Emax, ED50, and N were calculated using nonlinear least-squares regression. The correlation between efficacy and each of the three PK-PD indices studied (total and free-drug T>MIC, AUC/MIC, and peak/MIC) was determined by nonlinear least-squares multivariate regression (Sigma Stat; Jandel Scientific Software, San Rafael, CA). The coefficient of determination, or R2, was used to estimate the variance that could be due to regression with each of the PK-PD indices.
To allow a comparison of the potencies of PPI-0903 against a variety of organisms, we utilized the 24-h static dose and doses necessary to achieve 1 and 2 log10 kills. The magnitude of the PK-PD index associated with each endpoint dose was calculated from the following equation: log10 D = {log10 [E/(Emax E)] + log ED50}/N, where E is control growth (D equals the dose), E = control growth plus 1 log when D = 1 log kill, or E = control plus 2 log for D = 2 log kill.
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TABLE 1. PPI-0903, penicillin, cefotaxime, and methicillin in vitro activities against selected isolates of S. pneumoniae, S. aureus, and Enterobacteriaceae
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FIG. 1. Serum PPI-0903 concentrations (total drug) after administration of single doses of 1.56, 6.25, 25, and 100 mg/kg in neutropenic infected mice. Each symbol represents the mean ± standard deviation of the levels in the sera of three mice.
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TABLE 2. Total-drug serum pharmacokinetics values following single-dose subcutaneous administration of PPI-0903
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FIG. 2. In vivo PAE of PPI-0903 after administration of single doses of 1.56, 6.25, 25, and 100 mg/kg against S. pneumoniae ATCC 10813 (a), S. aureus ATCC 29213 (b), and E. coli ATCC 25922 (c). Each symbol represents the mean ± standard deviation for two mice. Widths of the solid bars represent the duration of time free-drug serum levels exceeded the MIC of the infecting pathogen.
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FIG.3. Relationship between PPI-0903 dosing interval and efficacy against S. pneumoniae ATCC 10813 (a), S. aureus ATCC 33591 (b), and K. pneumoniae ATCC 43816 (c) in a murine thigh infection model. Each symbol represents the mean data from two mice (four thighs). The dashed horizontal line represents the burden of organisms at the start of therapy. Data below the line represent killing, and data above the line show growth.
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FIG. 4. Relationships of the PPI-0903 total drug level, %T>MIC, peak/MIC, and 24-h AUC/MIC for S. pneumoniae ATCC 10813 (a), S. aureus 33591 (b), and K. pneumoniae (c) with the change in log10 CFU/thigh after 24 h of therapy. Each symbol represents the mean data from two mice (four thighs). The dashed horizontal line represents the burden of organisms at the start of therapy. Data above the line represent growth, and data below the line represent killing. R2 is the coefficient of determination.
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TABLE 3. PPP-0903 in vivo activity in murine thigh and lung infection models against multiple organisms
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The relationship between the free-drug %T>MIC efficacy against the three organism groups is demonstrated graphically in Fig. 5a, b, and c. The dose-response relationships were relatively strong, with R2 values ranging from 78 to 91%.
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FIG.5. Relationship between the PPI-0903 free-drug %T>MIC and efficacy against five S. pneumoniae (a), four S. aureus (b), and four gram-negative bacilli (c). Each symbol represents the mean data for two mice (four thighs). R2 is the coefficient of determination. The dashed horizontal line represents the burden of organisms at the start of therapy. Data below the line represent killing, and data above the line represent growth.
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FIG. 6. Relationship between PPI-093 dose level and change in log10 CFU/thigh in both normal (hollow symbols) and neutropenic (solid symbols) mice infected with S. pneumoniae ATCC 10813. Each symbol represents the mean data for two mice (four thighs).
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FIG. 7. Relationship between PPI-093 dose level and change in log10 CFU/organ in mice infected with K. pneumoniae ATCC 43816 in both the thigh (solid symbols) and lung (hollow symbols) infection models. Each symbol represents the mean data for two mice (four thighs).
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The current studies characterized the in vivo pharmacodynamic activity of a new anti-MRSA cephalosporin, PPI-0903. The rate and extent of bacterial killing was not remarkably increased despite a 64-fold escalation in dose level, which produced serum drug levels more than 1,000-fold higher than the MIC. However, marked killing was observed when free drug levels exceeded the MIC. The in vivo PAEs were either nonexistent or of modest duration against the S. pneumoniae and E. coli isolates studied. The PAEs were of somewhat longer duration against S. aureus, an observation previously observed with other beta-lactams. One would predict that %T>MIC would be the PK-PD index that most strongly correlated with efficacy of PPI-0903 given this pattern of antimicrobial activity. Data from the current multiple dosing regimen studies confirmed that the %T>MIC is the best PK-PD predictor of efficacy of this cephalosporin.
Numerous in vitro and in vivo models and clinical trials have suggested that the magnitude of the %T>MIC predictive of cephalosporin efficacy ranges from 25 to 70%, depending upon the defined therapeutic endpoint (4, 5, 6). The cephalosporin %T>MIC target to produce a net bacteriostatic effect has been reported most commonly in the range of 30 to 40% as long as free drug levels are considered. A somewhat larger target of 50 to 70% has been required to produce maximal bacteriologic efficacy in animal model studies. In the current investigation, dosing regimens that produced free-drug %T>MICs in a similar range produced a net static effect. The three pneumococcal organisms resistant to penicillin also demonstrated elevated PPI-0903 MICs. However, the relative increase in the MIC did not preclude reaching the therapeutic study endpoints. Similarly, the in vivo activity of this novel cephalosporin was not affected by methicillin resistance in S. aureus. Among the bacterial species studied, the pharmacodynamic target was lowest for S. aureus, which is similar to data from other beta-lactam antibiotics. The reduced %T>MIC is likely related to the longer PAEs against this species compared to others.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that this index value is independent of the dosing interval, animal species, site of infection, or the cephalosporin used as long as free drug levels are considered (1, 2, 5, 11, 17, 18). In these studies as well, the %T>MIC associated with efficacy was similar in the thigh and lung infection models.
While PPI-0903 has not yet undergone extensive clinical investigation, the current studies suggest that the relationship between the pharmacokinetics of this cephalosporin and its efficacy is similar to other cephalosporin antibiotics (5, 8, 14, 17, 18). In vitro susceptibility studies available thus far have found that more than 90% of clinical isolates of S. pneumoniae, S. aureus, and Enterobacteriaceae (including beta-lactam-resistant strains) are inhibited by PPI-0903 concentrations of 0.25, 2.0, and 0.5 mg/liter, respectively (Y. Ge, R. S. Blosser, D. F. Sahm, and J. A. Karlowsky, Abstr. 104th Am. Soc. Microbiol. Gen. Meeting., abstr. A139, 2004). Phase I pharmacokinetic studies should soon be available. The relationship between human pharmacokinetics and the surveillance in vitro susceptibility data should be considered relative to a %T>MIC target ranging from 20 to 50% (based on static dose). These pharmacodynamic targets should be useful for dosing regimen design for future clinical trials. The current studies suggest that this new cephalosporin should be effective in vivo against a wide spectrum of organisms, including MRSA.
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