Efficacy of trovafloxacin for treatment of experimental Bacteroides infection in young and senescent mice.

We investigated the efficacy of trovafloxacin, a new quinolone, in comparison with that of clindamycin in the treatment of intra-abdominal abscesses caused by Bacteroides fragilis in young and senescent mice. The development of abscess formation, the number of viable organisms, and antibiotic concentrations were measured, and the values for young and old mice were compared. Trovafloxacin was well distributed to the tissues in both young and old animals. Although the pharmacokinetics and concentrations of trovafloxacin in serum were similar between young and old mice, the levels in tissue were higher in senescent mice than in young mice. Trovafloxacin therapy sterilized abscesses in 94% of young mice and in 73% of old mice, but this difference was not significant. This therapeutic response to trovafloxacin was similar to that seen with clindamycin. These results suggest that aging may not have any adverse effect on the therapeutic outcome for intra-abdominal abscesses caused by B. fragilis.

Pharmacokinetics and safety of trovafloxacin in healthy male volunteers following administration of single intravenous doses of the prodrug, alatrofloxacin.

Fifteen healthy male volunteers (in four groups) received single 1 h i.v. infusions of alatrofloxacin (CP-116,517) equivalent to 30, 100, 200 or 300 mg of its active metabolite, trovafloxacin (CP-99,219). Blood and urine were sampled over 73 and 72 h, respectively, and plasma levels of alatrofloxacin and serum concentrations of trovafloxacin were determined by HPLC with UV detection. Alatrofloxacin was not detectable in plasma samples collected after the end of infusion, indicating rapid conversion to trovafloxacin. Maximum serum concentrations of trovafloxacin were achieved at the end of the infusions. Mean maximum plasma trovafloxacin concentrations for the four alatrofloxacin doses were 0.4, 1.8, 2.3 and 4.3 mg/L. The mean area under the concentration-time curve increased proportionally with the dose. The elimination half-life (T(1/2)) for trovafloxacin was independent of the dose and the mean T(1/2)s for the 100, 200 and 300 mg equivalent doses of alatrofloxacin were 10.4, 12.3 and 10.8 h. Approximately 10% of the equivalent dose was recovered as unchanged trovafloxacin in the urine. No clinical adverse or laboratory reactions were associated with i.v. administration of alatrofloxacin and its conversion to trovafloxacin. These results indicate that alatrofloxacin is rapidly converted to trovafloxacin and that the pharmacokinetic parameters for this new fluoroquinolone after i.v. administration of its parent compound are similar to those reported after oral administration of equivalent trovafloxacin doses.

A study of the phototoxic potential of trovafloxacin in BALB/c mice.

Trovafloxacin, a broad-spectrum naphthyridone antimicrobial agent, was evaluated for potential phototoxicity in a standardized in-vivo test system that has been used previously to assess quinolone antibiotics. Fasted BALB/c mice were given a single oral dose of either trovafloxacin mesylate (10, 30, 90 or 250 mg/kg) or the positive control lomefloxacin hydrochloride (71 mg/kg) and immediately exposed to long-wave ultraviolet (UVA) light. Animals were irradiated for 4 h, equal to a total UV light irradiation of approximately 18 J/cm2. Before dosing, at the end of the irradiation period and at approximately 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after dosing, both ears of each mouse were evaluated for changes indicative of a positive response: erythema, oedema or a measurable increase in ear thickness. Under the conditions of this study, trovafloxacin produced a mild response (erythema and a slight increase in ear thickness) in mice given a dose of 90 or 250 mg/kg; no significant response was observed in mice given either lower doses (10 or 30 mg/kg) or the vehicle. In contrast, 71 mg/kg of lomefloxacin produced a strong and persistent phototoxic response. The results of this study demonstrate that the phototoxic potential of trovafloxacin is considerably less than that of lomefloxacin and, when compared with similar studies with related compounds, suggest that trovafloxacin is among the least phototoxic of the fluoroquinolone class.

Activity of trovafloxacin in combination with other drugs for treatment of acute murine toxoplasmosis.

Current therapy for toxoplasmosis with a synergistic combination of pyrimethamine plus sulfadiazine or pyrimethamine plus clindamycin is not always efficacious and is frequently discontinued due to intolerable toxic effects in immunocompromised individuals, particularly those with AIDS. Trovafloxacin, a new fluoroquinolone with potent activity against Toxoplasma gondii, was examined for potential synergistic activity when combined with other drugs used for treatment of human toxoplasmosis. Combinations of trovafloxacin with clarithromycin, pyrimethamine, or sulfadiazine demonstrated significantly enhanced activities compared to those observed with each drug alone. Our results suggest that combinations of trovafloxacin and other anti-toxoplasma drugs should be further explored for treatment of toxoplasmosis in humans.

In vivo efficacy of trovafloxacin (CP-99,217), a new quinolone, in experimental intra-abdominal abscesses caused by Bacteroides fragilis and Escherichia coli.

The efficacy of trovafloxacin in treating Bacteroides fragilis and Escherichia coli infections was investigated and compared to the efficacy of combined clindamycin and gentamicin therapy in an experimental model of intra-abdominal abscesses in rats. Rats were treated with different doses of CP-116,517-27, a parenteral prodrug of trovafloxacin. Response to treatment was evaluated by mortality rate and elimination of infection (cure rate). Mortality in the control group was 85.4%, whereas in rats treated with trovafloxacin, it was close to 0%. The highest cure rate (89.3%) resulted from the administration of 40 mg of CP-116,517-27 per kg of body weight three times a day (TID) for 10 days (equivalent to 18.15 mg of active drug trovafloxacin per rat per day). The therapeutic response with trovafloxacin was comparable to that of a combination therapy of clindamycin (75 mg/kg) plus gentamicin (20 mg/kg) TID (cure rate, 74%; mortality rate, 5%). The measured peak levels of trovafloxacin in serum and abscess pus were 2.6 +/- 0.3 and 5.2 micrograms/ml, respectively. The tumor necrosis factor alpha levels in the untreated animals were high compared to those for rats treated with trovafloxacin or clindamycin plus gentamicin. These results demonstrate that trovafloxacin as a single agent appears to be as successful as clindamycin plus gentamicin in the treatment of experimental intra-abdominal abscesses in rats.

Activity of the new fluoroquinolone trovafloxacin (CP-99,219) against DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV mutants of Streptococcus pneumoniae selected in vitro.

The MICs of trovafloxacin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and sparfloxacin at which 90% of isolates are inhibited for 55 isolates of pneumococci were 0.125, 1, 4, and 0.5 microgram/ml, respectively. Resistant mutants of two susceptible isolates were selected in a stepwise fashion on agar containing ciprofloxacin at 2 to 10 times the MIC. While no mutants were obtained at the highest concentration tested, mutants were obtained at four times the MIC of ciprofloxacin (4 micrograms/ml) at a frequency of 1.0 x 10(-9). Ciprofloxacin MICs for these first-step mutants ranged from 4 to 8 micrograms/ml, whereas trovafloxacin MICs were 0.25 to 0.5 microgram/ml. Amplification of the quinolone resistance-determining region of the grlA (parC; topoisomerase IV) and gyrA (DNA gyrase) genes of the parents and mutants revealed that changes of the serine at position 80 (Ser80) to Phe or Tyr (Staphylococcus aureus coordinates) in GrlA were associated with resistance to ciprofloxacin. Second-step mutants of these isolates were selected by plating the isolates on medium containing ciprofloxacin at 32 micrograms/ml. Mutants for which ciprofloxacin MICs were 32 to 256 micrograms/ml and trovafloxacin MICs were 4 to 16 micrograms/ml were obtained at a frequency of 1.0 x 10(-9). Second-step mutants also had a change in GyrA corresponding to a substitution in Ser84 to Tyr or Phe or in Glu88 to Lys. Trovafloxacin protected from infection mice whose lungs were inoculated with lethal doses of either the parent strain or the first-step mutant. These results indicate that resistance to fluoroquinolones in S. pneumoniae occurs in vitro at a low frequency, involving sequential mutations in topoisomerase IV and DNA gyrase. Trovafloxacin MICs for wild-type and first-step mutants are within clinically achievable levels in the blood and lungs of humans.

Inhibition of benzo[a]pyrene metabolism by insulin, FITC-insulin and an FITC-insulin-antibody conjugate in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2.

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) can be metabolically activated to an ultimate carcinogen, (+)-anti-BaP-7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide [(+)-anti-BaPDE] by cells in culture. This activation involves oxidation by specific isoforms of cytochrome P450s such as CYP1A1. The human hepatoma cell line, HepG2, was used to examine the effect of inhibition of CYP1A1 activity by anti CYP1A1 specific antibodies on BaP metabolism. Metabolism of BaP to water-soluble metabolites by HepG2 cells in culture was 50% lower in fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-insulin-CYP1A1-antibody-conjugate-treated cells than in control cells. However, FITC-insulin (lacking anti CYP1A1 conjugates) or insulin alone also decreased BaP metabolism by 50%. This insulin-induced inhibition of BaP metabolism was observed for cultures treated with a concentration range of FITC-insulin from 50-1000 nM. FITC-conjugated gamma-globulin showed no significant binding to HepG2 cells by fluorescence microscopy, however, FITC-insulin-antibody conjugates bound extensively, suggesting that FITC-insulin conjugates still retain the ability to bind insulin receptors. These results demonstrate that free insulin, FITC-insulin or FITC-insulin conjugated to antibodies are effective inhibitors of BaP metabolism in cells in culture.