Treatment with an oxazolidinone antibiotic inhibits toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 production in MRSA-infected burn wounds

Mortality rates in burn patients increase if they experience complications of infection. Frequently, the organisms associated with such infections are Staphylococci, including antibiotic-resistant species such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Virulence factor production can further complicate treatment as a localized toxin presence may derail the healing process and allow a more invasive infection, while a toxin that becomes systemic can induce shock and cause host immune disruption. Male rats were anesthetized and subjected to full-thickness burn wounds. One day postinjury, wounds were inoculated with Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin-1-producing methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Animals were then divided into three treatment groups: vancomycin, linezolid, or positive control. For nine additional days, animals received twice-daily antibiotics and wound assessments, blood draws, and wound biopsies were performed. All animals had wound quantitative cultures that exceeded 1 × 10 colony forming units (CFU) per gram 1 day after inoculation. Linezolid treatment significantly reduced the bacterial counts in the wounds. Positive controls and vancomycin-treated animals had toxins in their wounds by day 5 and this remained throughout the study (ranging from 20-80 ng/ml). Linezolid-treated animals had significant decrease in toxin production (< 5 ng/ml), and in most cases toxins were undetectable. No animals became systemically infected with bacteria at any point during the study. Superantigen production in burn wounds has morbid consequences in terms of long-term wound healing. A S. aureus burn wound infection model was created that allowed the study of the effect of two standard-use antibiotics on local burn wound pathophysiology. Most noteworthy is that low-dose linezolid arrested toxin production in the wound.