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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, October 2008, p. 3763-3775, Vol. 52, No. 10
0066-4804/08/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/AAC.00294-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

JMI Laboratories, North Liberty, Iowa,1 Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts,2 Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil3
Received 3 March 2008/ Returned for modification 30 March 2008/ Accepted 15 June 2008
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DC-159a is a novel orally administered fluoroquinolone developed by Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan), and has been reported to have a residual affinity for strains with mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) (2, 9). Such features (10) provide this agent with a focus of activity against community-acquired pathogens that cause significant occurrences of respiratory tract infections, uncomplicated cutaneous infections, and possibly, other infections caused by wild-type members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. To assess this possibility, an international collection of recently collected gram-positive and -negative pathogens (1,149 strains) that contained organisms with well-characterized mechanisms of resistance or with the phenotypic expression of resistance according to the MICs was selected. All tests were performed by reference Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI; formerly NCCLS) methods with appropriate medium supplements for fastidious streptococci (2 to 5% lysed horse blood) and Haemophilus sp. strains (Haemophilus test medium formulation) (3, 4).
(This paper was presented in part in posters F1-0479 and F1-0480 at the 46th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, San Francisco, CA, September 2006.)
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Susceptibility testing methods. DC-159a and levofloxacin standard powders were supplied by Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. All other agents were obtained from domestic (U.S.) manufacturers. The reference methods described by the CLSI were used throughout the study (3, 4). Gonococci were tested by the agar dilution method on GC agar base with the defined supplement (3, 4). The interpretive criteria of CLSI standard M100-S18 (4) were used, where available, to determine the susceptibilities of the isolates to the comparison agents (24 antimicrobials). The PCR methods described by Mutnick et al. (11) were used to determine the 23S rRNA mutations (G2576T) associated with the linezolid resistance found in the enterococci.
Quality control was ensured by the use of the following strains: S. aureus ATCC 29213, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and ATCC 35218, P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853, H. influenzae ATCC 49247 and ATCC 49766, S. pneumoniae ATCC 49619, and N. gonorrhoeae ATCC 49226. All quality control test results were within published CLSI ranges (4).
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2 µg/ml. Beta-hemolytic streptococci were very susceptible to DC-159a, with MIC50s and MIC90s of 0.12 µg/ml. This potency was slightly greater than that of moxifloxacin and eightfold greater than that of levofloxacin (MIC90, 1 µg/ml). |
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TABLE 1. Activity of DC-159a tested by reference CLSI methods against 323 strains of streptococci and gram-negative pathogens associated with respiratory tract infections
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0.015 to
0.12 µg/ml. The DC-159a MIC90s for the H. influenzae strains were 0.015 and 0.03 µg/ml, with the highest values being for the β-lactamase-positive isolates. The 10 BLNAR strains had very low DC-159a MICs that ranged from 0.008 to 0.015 µg/ml. The H. parainfluenzae strains were approximately fourfold less susceptible to DC-159a than the H. influenzae strains. This difference was also observed for the other fluoroquinolones tested (Table 1). The M. catarrhalis strains were very susceptible to DC-159a, with MIC50s and MIC90s of 0.03 µg/ml, regardless of whether they produced a β-lactamase (Table 1).
Table 2 lists the activity of DC-159a against 150 isolates of staphylococci. DC-159a exhibited potent activity against methicillin (oxacillin)-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) strains, with MIC50s and MIC90s of only 0.03 µg/ml. This level of activity was 16-fold greater than that of ciprofloxacin but 2-fold less than that of gemifloxacin (MIC90, 0.015 µg/ml). MRSA strains derived from patients with nosocomial infections showed the greatest susceptibility to DC-159a (MIC90, 2 µg/ml). However, the range of DC-159a MICs was 32- to 64-fold greater than that for MSSA strains (0.015 to 0.06 µg/ml for MRSA strains versus 0.5 to 4 µg/ml for MSSA strains). None of these MRSA strains were susceptible at the CLSI breakpoint concentrations of the comparison, marketed fluoroquinolones. The activity of DC-159a against 30 well-characterized isolates from patients with CA-MRSA infection (USA300-0114 and its variants) was tested, and the MIC50 and MIC90 results for these strains were identical to those for the MSSA strains (Table 2). The CA-MRSA strains had a documented virulence island (Panton-Valentine leukocidin positive), staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec type IVa, and agrI. Only 30% of the coagulase-negative staphylococcal strains were oxacillin susceptible, and the DC-159a MICs ranged from 0.03 to 0.5 µg/ml (5 log2 dilutions steps). The activity of DC-159a against a large number of Staphylococcus saprophyticus strains (n = 30) was tested, with complete activity being achieved at
0.5 µg/ml. Overall, among the five groups of staphylococci tested, DC-159a at
0.5 µg/ml inhibited all isolates in four of the groups (the exception was the nosocomial MRSA group). DC-159a showed a potency most similar to that of gemifloxacin (MIC90 range, 0.016 to 2 µg/ml) and markedly greater than the potencies of the other fluoroquinolones tested.
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TABLE 2. Antimicrobial activity of DC-159a against 283 strains of other gram-positive species isolates by CLSI methods
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0.06 to 0.5 µg/ml) and drug-resistant mutants (DC-159a MIC range, 2 to >8 µg/ml). The DC-159a MIC of 1 µg/ml appears to separate these isolates into two groups that have modal MICs of 0.12 and 4 µg/ml, respectively. Eighty percent of the vancomycin-susceptible E. faecalis strains were ciprofloxacin susceptible (wild-type MIC distributions), and among these strains, the potency rank was as follows: gemifloxacin (MIC90, 0.03 µg/ml) > DC-159a (MIC90, 0.12 µg/ml) > gatifloxacin = moxifloxacin (MIC90, 0.25 µg/ml) > ciprofloxacin = levofloxacin (MIC90, 0.5 µg/ml). The largest number of mutant (fluoroquinolone-resistant) enterococcal phenotypes was encountered among the vancomycin-resistant isolates (53 of 62 strains) and the linezolid-resistant isolates (10 of 10 strains).
E. coli wild-type isolates (90% of which were susceptible to ciprofloxacin) were equally susceptible to DC-159a and levofloxacin (MIC50s, 0.03 µg/ml) (Table 3). In contrast, E. coli strains producing extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) enzymes were more likely to be fluoroquinolone resistant, and the DC-159a and levofloxacin MIC50s were 1 doubling dilution higher than those for the wild type (Table 2). The wild-type Klebsiella spp. were highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin (90% susceptible; MIC50s,
0.03 µg/ml) and DC-159a (MIC50 range, 0.03 to 0.5 µg/ml). Ten K. pneumoniae strains harboring a KPC-type serine carbapenemase were tested (Table 3), and only two strains had DC-159a MICs of
2 µg/ml.
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TABLE 3. Activity of DC-159a against 423 strains of gram-negative bacilli by reference (CLSI) methods
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Among the Citrobacter spp. (20 of 30 of the strains were Citrobacter freundii strains), Enterobacter spp. (26 of 33 of the strains were Enterobacter cloacae), and the S. marcescens strains, significant differences in activity were observed when DC-159a was tested against wild-type strains and various strains with defined mechanisms of resistance (Table 3). The DC-159a MIC90s for the wild-type strains ranged from 0.5 to 2 µg/ml, whereas they ranged from 1 to 8 µg/ml for the resistant subsets of strains. The activity of DC-159a was comparable to the activities of the other fluoroquinolones tested against these isolates of the family Enterobacteriaceae, regardless of the coresistance of the isolates analyzed (Table 3). Only the carbapenems (imipenem) and amikacin showed wider spectra of activity against these groups of the Enterobacteriaceae.
DC-159a was active (MIC50 and MIC90, 0.06 µg/ml) against all wild-type isolates of Salmonella spp. at
0.25 µg/ml (Table 3). This level of activity was equal to the levels of activity of all other fluoroquinolones tested. One strain had a CMY-2 β-lactamase that produced resistance to extended-spectrum cephems. Against the more resistant salmonellae, DC-159a MICs were four- to eightfold higher, consistent with a first-step QRDR mutation. All other fluoroquinolone MICs were similarly elevated, but none of the isolates were judged to be resistant according to the CLSI breakpoint criteria (4). The Shigella sp. isolates were very susceptible to DC-159a and all fluoroquinolones tested. The test results for strains of five other species of the Enterobacteriaceae (Edwardsiella tarda [one strain], Escherichia vulneris [two strains], Hafnia alvei [four strains], Leclercia adecarboxylata [one strain], Pantoea agglomerans [one strain], and Serratia plymuthica [one strain]) showed variable patterns of resistance among the organisms; however, DC-159a inhibited all isolates at
1 µg/ml (MIC50, 0.06 µg/ml) (data not shown).
All P. aeruginosa isolates (30 strains; Table 3) were ciprofloxacin susceptible, with a single strain having a DC-159a and a gatifloxacin MIC of 4 µg/ml (potential intermediate susceptibility); however, three strains (10% of strains) had moxifloxacin MICs of 4 µg/ml. DC-159a was twofold less active than levofloxacin by use of the MIC50 (0.5 µg/ml) and MIC90 (2 µg/ml) results. Other than the fluoroquinolones, only the aminoglycosides inhibited more than 90% of the P. aeruginosa strains. Against the ciprofloxacin-resistant P. aeruginosa strains (10 strains), the DC-159a MICs ranged from 4 to >8 µg/ml. None of the fluoroquinolones tested were active, and only three of the antimicrobials tested (ceftazidime [which was active against 50% of the isolates], imipenem [50%], and amikacin [60%]) were active against
50% of these P. aeruginosa strains.
The activities of the fluoroquinolones (MIC90s) against the wild-type Acinetobacter sp. strains varied over a narrow range from 0.12 µg/ml (DC-159a, gatifloxacin, moxifloxacin) to 0.25 µg/ml (levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin). Acinetobacters resistant to the commonly used fluoroquinolones demonstrated cross-resistance and coresistance to β-lactams (except carbapenems) and some other drug classes. DC-159a was the most active of the agents tested against S. maltophilia (30 strains; Table 3).
The activity of DC-159a was compared to the activities of five agents against 60 gonococci with various ciprofloxacin susceptibility categories according to the CLSI (4) breakpoint criteria (Table 4). The DC-159a MICs increased (as did the levofloxacin MICs) as the ciprofloxacin MICs increased. The DC-159a MIC ranges for ciprofloxacin-susceptible, -intermediate, and -resistant strains were 0.008 to 0.015, 0.03 to 0.12, and 0.25 to 1 µg/ml, respectively. The levels of resistance to the β-lactams and tetracycline were also elevated among the ciprofloxacin-resistant strains. Overall, the DC-159a MICs were greater than or equal to eightfold lower than those of ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin against gonococcal strains with mutations in the QRDR.
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TABLE 4. Activity of DC-159a against 60 N. gonorrhoeae strains by the reference agar dilution method
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In this study of the activity of DC-159a, DC-159a was shown to possess a combination of antimicrobial qualities that may overcome some of the deficiencies of current fluoroquinolones, confirming the findings of earlier studies (2, 9). Against levofloxacin- or penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae strains, DC-159a had activity (MIC90 range, 0.12 to 1 µg/ml) intermediate between that of gemifloxacin (MIC90 range, 0.03 to 0.25 µg/ml) and that of moxifloxacin (MIC90 range, 0.25 to 4 µg/ml), and DC-159a was also very potent against other species associated with community-acquired respiratory tract infections (MIC range, 0.015 to 0.12; MICs for all strains,
0.25 µg/ml). DC-159a was approximately 16-fold more active than ciprofloxacin against staphylococci and showed the potential for use for the treatment of endemic CA-MRSA strains and some mutants with QRDR mutations. Gonococci resistant or intermediately susceptible to ciprofloxacin had DC-159a MICs that ranged from 0.03 to 1 µg/ml. Finally, the overall potency of DC-159a against members of the family Enterobacteriaceae (median MIC50, 0.12 µg/ml), P. aeruginosa (MIC50 for wild-type strains, 0.5 µg/ml), and Acinetobacter spp. (MIC50 for wild-type strains, 0.06 µg/ml) was most similar to that of levofloxacin, although DC-159a was markedly more active against the S. maltophilia strains (MIC50, 0.12 µg/ml). We eagerly await the publication of pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic results for DC-159a so that predictive microbiological/clinical breakpoint concentrations can be assigned (4, 15).
The study was funded by an educational/research grant from Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Published ahead of print on 23 June 2008. ![]()
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