Comparative Effects of Carbapenems on Bacterial Load and Host Immune Response in a Klebsiella pneumoniae Murine Pneumonia Model

Doripenem is a carbapenem with potent broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative pathogens, including antibiotic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. As the incidence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Gram-negative bacilli is increasing, it was of interest to examine the in vivo comparative efficacy of doripenem, imipenem, and meropenem against a Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate expressing the TEM-26 ESBL enzyme. In a murine lethal lower respiratory infection model, doripenem reduced the Klebsiella lung burden by 2 log(10) CFU/g lung tissue over the first 48 h of the infection. Treatment of mice with meropenem or imipenem yielded reductions of approximately 1.5 log(10) CFU/g during this time period. Seven days postinfection, Klebsiella titers in the lungs of treated mice decreased an additional 2 log(10) CFU/g relative to those in the lungs of untreated control animals. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin release assays indicated that 6 h postinfection, meropenem- and imipenem-treated animals had 10-fold more endotoxin in lung homogenates and sera than doripenem-treated mice. Following doripenem treatment, the maximum endotoxin release postinfection (6 h) was 53,000 endotoxin units (EU)/ml, which was 2.7- and 6-fold lower than imipenem or meropenem-treated animals, respectively. While the levels of several proinflammatory cytokines increased in both the lungs and sera following intranasal K. pneumoniae inoculation, doripenem treatment, but not meropenem or imipenem treatment, resulted in significantly increased interleukin 6 levels in lung homogenates relative to those in lung homogenates of untreated controls, which may contribute to enhanced neutrophil killing of bacteria in the lung. Histological examination of tissue sections indicated less overall inflammation and tissue damage in doripenem-treated mice, consistent with improved antibacterial efficacy, reduced LPS endotoxin release, and the observed cytokine induction profile.