AUTHOR=He Siyuan , Guo Qi , Zhao Lan , Xu Liyun , Fan Junsheng , Wu Wenye , Zhang Zhemin , Li Bing , Chu Haiqing 

TITLE=Sitafloxacin Expresses Potent Anti-Mycobacterium abscessus Activity

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.779531

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.779531

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Therapeutic options for treating <italic>Mycobacterium abscessus</italic> infections are extremely limited; quinolones are important. The <italic>in vitro</italic> anti-<italic>M. abscessus</italic> activities of nine quinolones, emphasizing sitafloxacin, were investigated. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on 10 non-tuberculous mycobacterium reference strains and 194 clinical, <italic>M. abscessus</italic> isolates. The activity of sitafloxacin against intracellular <italic>M. abscessus</italic> residing within macrophages was also evaluated. A checkerboard assay was conducted to determine synergy between sitafloxacin and 10 clinically important antibiotics. Among the nine quinolones tested, sitafloxacin exhibited the greatest anti-<italic>M. abscessus</italic> activity with MIC<sub>50</sub> and MIC<sub>90</sub> of 1 and 2 mg/L, respectively. Sitafloxacin exerted a bacteriostatic effect on <italic>M. abscessus</italic> and inhibited the intracellular growth of <italic>M. abscessus</italic> at concentrations equivalent to clarithromycin. No antagonism between sitafloxacin and 10 clinically important anti-<italic>M. abscessus</italic> antibiotics was evident. In summary, sitafloxacin exhibited a significant advantage relative to other quinolones in inhibiting the growth of <italic>M. abscessus in vitro</italic>, suggesting the potential inclusion of sitafloxacin in new strategies to treat <italic>M. abscessus</italic> infections.</p>