zithromax and rokitamycin

We examined antibacterial activities of 4 kinds of macrolides (MLs), erythromycin (EM), clarithromycin (CAM), azithromycin (AZM) and rokitamycin (RKM), against 4 bacterial species of clinical strains isolated in 2004. Bacterial isolates used were 51 strains of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), 20 of Streptococcus pyogenes, 68 of Streptococcus agalactiae, and 120 of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Macrolide resistance genes, ermB and mefE, in macrolide-resistant S. pyogenes and S. agalactiae, and all of pneumococci were analyzed by PCR. Antimicrobial activities against macrolide-susceptible MSSA of EM and CAM, were more potent than those of RKM. By contrast, against S. pneumoniae, RKM was more effective than EM, CAM and AZM. Against S. pyogenes and S. agalactiae, 4 antibiotics showed similar antimicrobial activities. Twelve, 1 and 2 strains of MSSA, S. pyogenes and S. agalactiae, respectively, were resistant to EM, CAM and AZM, whereas RKM was active to almost, but not quite, of them. Among 120 strains of S. pneumoniae, 76 (63.3%) were resistant to EM (MIC; > or = 0.5 microg/mL), and 23, 15 and 28 strains were highly resistant (MIC; > 128 microg/mL) to EM, CAM and AZM, respectively. By contrast, for RKM, there were far fewer resistant strains, and there was no highly resistant strain. PCR analyses of macrolide-resistant genes revealed that 1 resistant strain of S. pyogenes and 2 of S. agalactiae carried mefE and ermB, respectively. In the case of S. pneumoniae, 59, 19 and 5 strains, respectively, carried ermB, mefE and both ermB and mefe. We also studied about bactericidal activities and postantibiotic effects (PAE) of MLs using macrolide-susceptible, and ermB- and mefE-carrying S. pneumoniae, and observed morphological alterations of the strains treated with the drugs by a scanning electron microscope. It was demonstrated that RKM had superior bactericidal activities and PAE than other 3 drugs, and potent destructive effects to all of 3 strains.

Topics: Azithromycin; Bacterial Proteins; Clarithromycin; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Erythromycin; Humans; Macrolides; Membrane Proteins; Methicillin Resistance; Methyltransferases; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Miocamycin; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Staphylococcus aureus; Streptococcus agalactiae; Streptococcus pneumoniae; Streptococcus pyogenes

We examined antibacterial activities of 4 kinds of macrolides, erythromycin (EM), clarithromycin (CAM), azithromycin (AZM) and rokitamycin (RKM), against 6 bacterial species of clinical strains isoleted in 2002. Bacterial isolates used were each 50 strains of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae, Moraxella (Branhamella) catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae and 43 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae. S. agalactiae were derived from gynecological samples, and other species were isolated from respiratory specimens. Antimicrobial activities against S. aureus, S. pyogenes, S. agalactiae, M. catarrhalis and H. influenzae of 14-membered macrolides, such as EM and CAM, were higher than those of 16-membered macrolide, RKM. By contrast, against S. pneumoniae, RKM was more effective than 14-membered macrolides. Six, three and four strains of S. aureus, S. pyogenes and S. agalactiae, respectively, were resistant to macrolides. Thirty-five among 43 pneumococcal isolates were resistant, and 15 of the 35 were highly-resistant, MIC of > 128 micrograms/ml, to any one of EM, CAM or AZM. Isolation frequency of resistant strains to RKM was lower than those to 14- and 15-membered macrolides: only one strain was highly-resistant and 12 were intermediately-resistant. No resistant strain was recognized in M. catarrhalis and H. influenzae. Further, we analyzed the resistant mechanisms, methylation or efflux, of macrolide resistant strains by the double-disk method. Methylation was major mechanism in S. aureus, and in S. pyogenes, all of the resistance was caused by methylation. In S. agalactiae and S. pneumoniae, methylation and efflux shared about half and half.

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Azithromycin; Bacteria; Clarithromycin; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Erythromycin; Haemophilus influenzae; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Miocamycin; Moraxella catarrhalis; Staphylococcus; Streptococcus agalactiae; Streptococcus pneumoniae; Streptococcus pyogenes

The cytocidal effect of seven macrolide antibiotics on human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (Pel cells) was studied. Pel cells were exposed for 48 h to erythromycin (EM), clarithromycin (CAM), roxithromycin (RXM), azithromycin (AZM), josamycin (JM), midecamycin (MDM), and rokitamycin (RKM), and allowed to form colonies. The cytocidal effect of the macrolides was measured as a decrease in colony-forming efficiency and was found to increase with the concentration. To obtain a quantitative measure of the cytocidal effect, the LD50, i.e. the concentration that decreases colony-forming efficiency 50% relative to control cells, was extrapolated from the concentration-response curves. The rank of the macrolides according to their cytocidal effect (LD50) was RKM > RXM > CAM > AZM > JM > MDM approximately EM. RKM, RXM, CAM, AZM, and JM were at least 1.7-12.2 times more cytocidal than MDM or EM. When extrapolated from the concentration-response curves, the relative survival of the Pel cells exposed to each of the macrolides at the MIC90 concentrations for periodontopathic bacteria was estimated to be: > or = 53.8% for RKM, > or = 92.7% for RXM, > or = 94.6% for CAM, > or = 97.1% for AZM, and > or = 86.2% for EM. The effect of the antibiotics on the mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and type I procollagen (COL) was examined in Pel cells exposed for 48 h to RXM, CAM, AZM, and EM, which exhibited strong, moderate, and weak cytocidal activity. The constitutive levels of both ALP and COL mRNA were retained in cells exposed to RXM at < or = 3 microM, CAM at < or = 10 microM, and AZM or EM at < or = 3 microM. The MIC90 against periodontopathic bacteria is < or = 4.8 microM for RXM, 5.3 microM for CAM, 2.7 microM for AZM, and 21.8 microM for EM. These results suggest that topical administration of CAM or AZM to the gingival crevice at their MIC90 concentration for periodontopathic bacteria would have little adverse effect on the growth and differentiation of the periodontal ligament. It is important to note, however, that these findings have yet to be extrapolated to in vivo conditions.

Topics: Alkaline Phosphatase; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Apoptosis; Azithromycin; Cell Survival; Cells, Cultured; Clarithromycin; Collagen Type I; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Erythromycin; Fibroblasts; Gene Expression; Humans; Josamycin; Lethal Dose 50; Leucomycins; Miocamycin; Periodontal Ligament; RNA, Messenger; Roxithromycin; Statistics as Topic; Time Factors

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Azithromycin; Bronchi; Cells, Cultured; Clarithromycin; Depression, Chemical; Epithelial Cells; Erythromycin; Gene Expression; Humans; Inflammation Mediators; Interleukin-8; Miocamycin; Structure-Activity Relationship; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Since "small-dose and long-term" administration of erythromycin (EM) was shown to be efficacious in the treatment of chronic respiratory disease, the modulation of host defense responses by EM has attracted much attention. Although there is considerable controversy, it was recently demonstrated that EM activity reduces neutrophil function. In this study, we investigated the in vitro effects of the macrolides erythromycin (EM), a 14-membered ring, azithromycin (AZM), a 15-membered ring and rokitamycin (RKM), a 16-membered ring macrolide, on neutrophil function. The DCFH-DA method and cytochrome C method were used for assay of active oxygen generation and the Boyden-chamber method was used for assay of chemotaxis. EM and AZM, both of which have been shown to be clinically effective in the treatment of Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB), significantly suppressed active oxygen generation and chemotaxis of neutrophils at low concentrations equivalent to therapeutic doses (0.5 approximately 1.0 microgram/ml, p < 0.05), whereas the clinically ineffective RKM did not. The in vitro inhibitory effects of EM and AZM on active oxygen generation and chemotaxis of neutrophils demonstrated in the present study may be responsible for the therapeutic efficacy of these 14-membered and 15-membered ring macrolides in the treatment of DPB patients.

Topics: Anti-Bacterial Agents; Azithromycin; Bronchiolitis; Chemotaxis, Leukocyte; Erythromycin; Humans; Miocamycin; Neutrophil Activation; Neutrophils

The inhibitory effects of azithromycin (AZM), a new 15-membered macrolide antibiotic, on the production of exotoxin A, total protease, elastase, and phospholipase C by Pseudomonas aeruginosa were determined, and the virulence-suppressing effects of AZM were compared with those of erythromycin (EM), roxithromycin (RXM), and rokitamycin (RKM). The effect of exposure of P. aeruginosa PA103 or B16 in cultures to sub-MICs of these macrolide antibiotics on the production of exoenzymes was determined. AZM suppressed the in vitro production of extracellular and intracellular exotoxin A by P. aeruginosa PA103 more than did EM, even at a concentration of only 2 micrograms/ml. At concentrations of between 4 and 32 micrograms/ml, AZM also inhibited total protease, elastase, and phospholipase C production by P. aeruginosa B16 more than did EM, RXM, and RKM. AZM was effective in suppressing exotoxin A and total protease production through 24 h of incubation in the presence of drug at sub-MICs, but it had no significant effect on either the growth of P. aeruginosa or its total protein production. Moreover, at a concentration of 4 micrograms/ml, AZM suppressed exoenzyme production by other strains of P. aeruginosa more than did EM. These findings indicate that AZM, EM, RXM, and RKM each has an inhibitory effect on exoenzyme production separate from the antimicrobial effect and that, of these macrolides, AZM has the strongest virulence-suppressing effect.

Topics: ADP Ribose Transferases; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Azithromycin; Bacterial Proteins; Bacterial Toxins; Endopeptidases; Erythromycin; Exotoxins; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Miocamycin; Pancreatic Elastase; Protease Inhibitors; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas aeruginosa Exotoxin A; Roxithromycin; Type C Phospholipases; Virulence Factors

RP 59500 is a 30:70 mixture of RP 57669 and RP 54476. The activity of RP 59500 and its two components against Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms was compared with that of clarithromycin, roxithromycin, azithromycin and rokitamycin. RP 59500 inhibited 90% of erythromycin-susceptible and resistant Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci at less than or equal to 1 mg/L (range 0.06-2 mg/L). Both inducibly and constitutively-resistant strains of S. aureus, as well as strains resistant to rifampicin, gentamicin and ciprofloxacin, were inhibited. Streptococcus pyogenes, including erythromycin-resistant isolates, and group C and G streptococci were inhibited by 0.5 mg/L. Streptococcus pneumoniae and viridans group streptococci were inhibited by 1 mg/L. The MIC90 was 4 mg/L for Haemophilus influenzae and 1 mg/L for Moraxella catarrhalis. RP 59500 did not inhibit Enterobacteriaceae or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The activity of RP 59500 against streptococci was less than that of the four other macrolides. Clostridium perfringens strains were highly susceptible, as were Bacteroides spp. RP 59500, when combined with ciprofloxacin, cefotaxime or gentamicin, did not have altered activity against susceptible species or alter the activity of the other component of the combination against susceptible species. MBCs in serum were increased two- to four-fold for S. pyogenes, S. pneumoniae and S. aureus, compared with MBCs in broth, but RP 59500 was as active at pH 6 as at pH 7, and there was not an appreciable inoculum effect. RP 59500 has potential use as an agent against inducibly and constitutively erythromycin-resistant isolates of Gram-positive species and selected anaerobic organisms.

Topics: Azithromycin; Bacteria; Cefotaxime; Ciprofloxacin; Clarithromycin; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Drug Therapy, Combination; Erythromycin; Gentamicins; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Humans; In Vitro Techniques; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Miocamycin; Roxithromycin; Virginiamycin