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Updated: Mar 13, 2026
Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction-based Analyses of Murine Intestinal Microbiota After Oral Antibiotic Treatment
Published on: November 17, 2018
Sterilizing Activity of Fully Oral Intermittent Regimens against Mycobacterium Ulcerans Infection in Mice
Aurélie Chauffour1, Jérôme Robert1,2, Nicolas Veziris1,2
1Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CR7, INSERM, U1135, Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, CIMI, Team E13 (Bactériologie), F-75013, Paris, France.
Background:
The treatment of Buruli ulcer (BU) that is caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, is currently based on a daily administration of rifampin and streptomycin (RIF-STR). A fully oral intermittent regimen would greatly simplify its treatment on the field.
Methodology/Principal Findings:
The objective of this study was to assess the bactericidal and sterilizing activities of intermittent oral regimens in a murine model of established M. ulcerans infection. Regimens combining rifapentine (RFP 20 mg/kg) with either moxifloxacin (MXF 200 mg/kg), clarithromycin (CLR 100 mg/kg) or bedaquiline (BDQ 25 mg/kg) were administrated twice (2/7) or three (only for RFP-CLR 3/7) times weekly during 8 weeks. The bactericidal but also the sterilizing activities of these four intermittent oral regimens were at least as good as those obtained with control weekdays regimens, i.e. RFP-CLR 5/7 or RIF-STR 5/7. A single mouse from the RFP-MFX 2/7 group had culture-positive relapse at the end of the 28 weeks following treatment completion among the 157 mice treated with one of the four intermittent regimens (40 RFP-CLR 2/7, 39 RFP-CLR 3/7, 39 RFP-MXF 2/7, 39 RFP-BDQ 2/7).
Conclusions/Significance:
These results open the door for a fully intermittent oral drug regimen for BU treatment avoiding intramuscular injections and facilitating supervision by health care workers.
