2区 · 医学
Article
作者: Bragonzi, Alessandra ; Chevalier, Eric ; Dale, Glenn E. ; Obrecht, Daniel ; De Fino, Ida ; Schmitt, Michel ; Bernardini, Francesca ; Cigana, Cristina ; Facchini, Marcella ; Rossi, Alice ; Alcalá-Franco, Beatriz ; Riva, Camilla ; Brodmann, Maj ; Wach, Achim ; Misson, Pauline ; Ranucci, Serena
ABSTRACT
The clinical development of antibiotics with a new mode of action combined with efficient pulmonary drug delivery is a priority against untreatable
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
lung infections. POL7001 is a macrocycle antibiotic belonging to the novel class of protein epitope mimetic (PEM) molecules with selective and potent activity against
P. aeruginosa
. We investigated ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and cystic fibrosis (CF) as indications of the clinical potential of POL7001 to treat
P. aeruginosa
pulmonary infections. MICs of POL7001 and comparators were measured for reference and clinical
P. aeruginosa
strains. The therapeutic efficacy of POL7001 given by pulmonary administration was evaluated in murine models of
P. aeruginosa
acute and chronic pneumonia. POL7001 showed potent
in vitro
activity against a large panel of
P. aeruginosa
isolates from CF patients, including multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates with adaptive phenotypes such as mucoid or hypermutable phenotypes. The efficacy of POL7001 was demonstrated in both wild-type and CF mice. In addition to a reduced bacterial burden in the lung, POL7001-treated mice showed progressive body weight recovery and reduced levels of inflammatory markers, indicating an improvement in general condition. Pharmacokinetic studies indicated that POL7001 reached significant concentrations in the lung after pulmonary administration, with low systemic exposure. These results support the further evaluation of POL7001 as a novel therapeutic agent for the treatment of
P. aeruginosa
pulmonary infections.
