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A β‐Lactone‐Based Antivirulence Drug Ameliorates Staphylococcus aureus Skin Infections in Mice
Author(s) -
Weinandy Franziska,
LorenzBaath Katrin,
Korotkov Vadim S.,
Böttcher Thomas,
Sethi Shneh,
Chakraborty Trinad,
Sieber Stephan A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemmedchem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.817
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1860-7187
pISSN - 1860-7179
DOI - 10.1002/cmdc.201300325
Subject(s) - staphylococcus aureus , antibiotics , in vivo , microbiology and biotechnology , virulence , pseudomonas aeruginosa , lactone , drug , abscess , bacteria , biology , pharmacology , biochemistry , genetics , gene
Skin infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus are a major clinical concern, especially if they are caused by multi‐resistant strains. In these cases, a spread into deeper soft tissues or the bloodstream results in life‐threatening conditions that are difficult to treat by conventional antibiotics. Previous in vitro experiments with a small β‐lactone‐based molecule demonstrated that antibiotic‐sensitive and ‐resistant S. aureus strains are effectively disarmed in their virulence and corresponding pathogenicity. In this work, in vivo mouse studies show that this methodology is effective for the treatment of skin abscesses in mice. A single dose of the β‐lactone significantly decreased abscess size even when applied 6 h post‐infection. Although the molecule requires pharmacological optimization (improved stability, for example), this study emphasizes the potential value of antivirulence therapies.