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The dearth of new medicines effective against antibiotic-resistant bacteria presents a growing global public health concern.sup.1. For more than five decades, the search for new antibiotics has relied heavily on the chemical modification of natural products (semisynthesis), a method ill-equipped to combat rapidly evolving resistance threats. Semisynthetic modifications are typically of limited scope within polyfunctional antibiotics, usually increase molecular weight, and seldom permit modifications of the underlying scaffold. When properly designed, fully synthetic routes can easily address these shortcomings.sup.2. Here we report the structure-guided design and component-based synthesis of a rigid oxepanoproline scaffold which, when linked to the aminooctose residue of clindamycin, produces an antibiotic of exceptional potency and spectrum of activity, which we name iboxamycin. Iboxamycin is effective against ESKAPE pathogens including strains expressing Erm and Cfr ribosomal RNA methyltransferase enzymes, products of genes that confer resistance to all clinically relevant antibiotics targeting the large ribosomal subunit, namely macrolides, lincosamides, phenicols, oxazolidinones, pleuromutilins and streptogramins. X-ray crystallographic studies of iboxamycin in complex with the native bacterial ribosome, as well as with the Erm-methylated ribosome, uncover the structural basis for this enhanced activity, including a displacement of the [Formula omitted] nucleotide upon antibiotic binding. Iboxamycin is orally bioavailable, safe and effective in treating both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial infections in mice, attesting to the capacity for chemical synthesis to provide new antibiotics in an era of increasing resistance. Structure-guided design and component-based synthesis are used to produce iboxamycin, a novel ribosome-binding antibiotic with potent activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria., Author(s): Matthew J. Mitcheltree [sup.1] , Amarnath Pisipati [sup.1] , Egor A. Syroegin [sup.2] , Katherine J. Silvestre [sup.1] , Dorota Klepacki [sup.3] , Jeremy D. Mason [sup.1] , Daniel [...]

Background: Influenza infections produce a spectrum of disease severity, ranging from a mild respiratory illness to respiratory failure and death. The host-response pathways associated with the progression to severe influenza disease are not well understood. Methods: To gain insight into the disease mechanisms associated with progression to severe infection, we analyzed the leukocyte transcriptome in severe and moderate influenza patients and healthy control subjects. Pathway analysis on differentially expressed genes was performed using a topology-based pathway analysis tool that takes into account the interaction between multiple cellular pathways. The pathway profiles between moderate and severe influenza were then compared to delineate the biological mechanisms underpinning the progression from moderate to severe influenza. Results: 107 patients (44 severe and 63 moderate influenza patients) and 52 healthy control subjects were included in the study. Severe influenza was associated with upregulation in several neutrophil-related pathways, including pathways involved in neutrophil differentiation, migration, degranulation and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation. The degree of upregulation in neutrophil-related pathways were significantly higher in severely infected patients compared to moderately infected patients. Severe influenza was also associated with downregulation in immune response pathways, including pathways involved in antigen presentation such as CD4+ T-cell co-stimulation, CD8+ T cell and Natural Killer (NK) cells effector functions. Apoptosis pathways were also downregulated in severe influenza patients compare to moderate and healthy controls. Conclusions: These findings showed that there are changes in gene expression profile that may highlight distinct pathogenic mechanisms associated with progression from moderate to severe influenza infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite recent advances in the management of septic shock, mortality remains unacceptably high. Earlier initiation of key therapies including appropriate antimicrobials and fluid resuscitation appears to reduce the mortality in this condition. This study examined whether early initiation of vasopressor therapy is associated with improved survival in fluid therapy-refractory septic shock., Methods: Utilizing a well-established database, relevant information including duration of time to vasopressor administration following the initial documentation of recurrent/persistent hypotension associated with septic shock was assessed in 8,670 adult patients from 28 ICUs in Canada, the United States of America, and Saudi Arabia. The primary endpoint was survival to hospital discharge. Secondary endpoints were length of ICU and hospital stay as well as duration of ventilator support and vasopressor dependence. Analysis involved multivariate linear and logistic regression analysis., Results: In total, 8,640 patients met the definition of septic shock with time of vasopressor/inotropic initiation documented. Of these, 6,514 were suitable for analysis. The overall unadjusted hospital mortality rate was 53%. Independent mortality correlates included liver failure (odds ratio (OR) 3.46, 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.67 to 4.48), metastatic cancer (OR 1.63, CI, 1.32 to 2.01), AIDS (OR 1.91, CI, 1.29 to 2.49), hematologic malignancy (OR 1.88, CI, 1.46 to 2.41), neutropenia (OR 1.78, CI, 1.27 to 2.49) and chronic hypertension (OR 0.62 CI, 0.52 to 0.73). Delay of initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy (OR 1.07/hr, CI, 1.06 to 1.08), age (OR 1.03/yr, CI, 1.02 to 1.03), and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II Score (OR 1.11/point, CI, 1.10 to 1.12) were also found to be significant independent correlates of mortality. After adjustment, only a weak correlation between vasopressor delay and hospital mortality was found (adjusted OR 1.02/hr, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.03, P <0.001). This weak effect was entirely driven by the group of patients with the longest delays (>14.1 hours). There was no significant relationship of vasopressor initiation delay to duration of vasopressor therapy (P = 0.313) and only a trend to longer duration of ventilator support (P = 0.055) among survivors., Conclusion: Marked delays in initiation of vasopressor/inotropic therapy are associated with a small increase in mortality risk in patients with septic shock.