In Vitro Activities of ME1036 (CP5609), a Novel Parenteral Carbapenem, against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococci

ME1036, formerly CP5609, is a novel parenteral carbapenem with a 7-acylated imidazo[5,1-b]thiazole-2-yl group directly attached to the carbapenem moiety of the C-2 position. The present study evaluated the in vitro activities of ME1036 against clinical isolates of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. ME1036 displayed broad activity against aerobic gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Unlike other marketed β-lactam antibiotics, ME1036 maintained excellent activity against multiple-drug-resistant gram-positive bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant staphylococci and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP). The MICs of this compound at which 90% of isolates were inhibited were 2 μg/ml for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 2 μg/ml for methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci, and 0.031 μg/ml for PRSP. In time-kill studies with six strains of MRSA, ME1036 at four times the MIC caused a time-dependent decrease in the numbers of viable MRSA cells. The activity of ME1036 against MRSA is related to its high affinity for penicillin-binding protein 2a, for which the 50% inhibitory concentration of ME1036 was approximately 300-fold lower than that of imipenem. In conclusion, ME1036 demonstrated a broad antibacterial spectrum and high levels of activity in vitro against staphylococci, including β-lactam-resistant strains

Antagonism between Aminoglycosides and β-Lactams in a Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolate Involves Induction of an Aminoglycoside-Modifying Enzyme

We encountered three clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus which were susceptible to netilmicin and arbekacin in the absence of β-lactam antibiotics but which were resistant to them in the presence of β-lactam antibiotics. One of these strains, KU5801, was used to further investigate the antagonism between aminoglycosides and β-lactam antibiotics. β-Lactam antibiotics induced bacterial synthesis of aminoglycoside-6′-N-acetyltransferase and 2"-O-phosphotransferase [AAC(6′)-APH(2")] in association with decreased antimicrobial activities of aminoglycosides. A 14.4-kb EcoRI fragment that included the genes that control for β-lactam-inducible aminoglycoside resistance was cloned from a 31-kb conjugative plasmid present in KU5801. Restriction fragment mapping and PCR analysis suggested that a Tn4001-like element containing a gene encoding AAC(6′)-APH(2") was located downstream from a truncated blaZ gene. The DNA sequence between blaR1 and a Tn4001-like element was determined. The Tn4001-IS257 hybrid structure was cointegrated into the blaZ gene, and the typical sequences for the termination of transcription were not found between these regions. We deduced that antagonism of aminoglycosides by β-lactam antibiotics in isolate KU5801 involved transcription of the aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2")-Ia gene under the influence of the system regulating penicillinase production

Therapeutic Effect of ME1036 on Endocarditis Experimentally Induced by Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

The efficacy of ME1036, a novel parenteral carbapenem, was compared with that of vancomycin by using a rabbit model of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) endocarditis. Compared with vancomycin, ME1036 reduced the bacterial counts in the vegetations at a lower dosage or over a shorter period of administration when it was used for the treatment of MRSA endocarditis