The antibacterial activity and selection of resistant bacteria, along with mechanisms of fluoroquinolone resistance, were investigated by integrating the static [MIC or mutant-prevention concentration (MPC)] and in vitro dynamic model approaches using Escherichia coli isolates from diseased dogs. Using the dynamic models, selected E. coli strains and enrofloxacin and marbofloxacin at a range of simulated area under concentration-time curve over a 24 h interval (AUC 24 h )/MIC ratios were investigated. Our results indicated increasing losses in susceptibility of E. coli upon continuous exposure to enrofloxacin and marbofloxacin in vitro. This effect was transferable to other fluoroquinolones, as well as to structurally unrelated drugs. Our results also confirmed an AUC 24 h /MIC (AUC 24 h /MPC)-dependent antibacterial activity and selection of resistant E. coli mutants, in which maximum losses in fluoroquinolone susceptibility occurred at simulated AUC 24 h /MIC ratios of 40-60. AUC 24 h /MPC ratios of 39 (enrofloxacin) and 32 (marbofloxacin) were considered protective against the selection of resistant mutants of E. coli. Integrating our MIC and MPC data with published pharmacokinetic information in dogs revealed a better effect of the conventional dosing regimen of marbofloxacin than that of enrofloxacin in restricting the selection of resistant mutants of E. coli. Target mutations, especially at codon 83 (serine to leucine) of gyrA, and overexpression of efflux pumps contributed to resistance development in both clinically resistant and in vitro-selected mutants of E. coli. We also report here a previously undescribed mutation at codon 116 of parC in two laboratory-derived resistant mutants of E. coli. Additional studies would determine the exact role of this mutation in fluoroquinolone susceptibility, as well as establish the importance of our findings in the clinical setting.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an allergic and chronic inflammatory skin disease. The present study investigates the anti-allergic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities of the ethanolic extract of Cornus officinalis (COFE) for possible applications in the treatment of AD. COFE inhibits the release of β-hexosaminidase from RBL-2H3 cells sensitized with the dinitrophenyl-immunoglobulin E (IgE-DNP) antibody after stimulation with dinitrophenyl-human serum albumin (DNP-HSA) in a concentration-dependent manner (IC50 = 0.178 mg/mL). Antioxidant activity determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant power assay, and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) scavenging activity, result in EC50 values of 1.82, 10.76, and 0.6 mg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the extract significantly inhibits lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production and the mRNA expression of iNOS and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α) through attenuation of NF-κB activation in RAW 264.7 cells. COFE significantly inhibits TNF-α-induced apoptosis in HaCaT cells without cytotoxic effects (p < 0.05). Furthermore, 2-furancarboxaldehyde and loganin are identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis, respectively, as the major compounds. Molecular docking analysis shows that loganin, cornuside, and naringenin 7-O-β-D-glucoside could potentially disrupt the binding of IgE to human high-affinity IgE receptors (FceRI). Our results suggest that COFE might possess potential inhibitory effects on allergic responses, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses.

Regulators of G protein signalling (RGS) are involved in the negative regulation of cell activation processes and are involved in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases. To get some further evidence for a role of RGS proteins in platelets, we determined the expression profile of RGS-specific mRNA in rat platelets using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with a poly dT18 primer and transcript-specific primers. We found that RGS2, RGS3, RGS5, RGS6, RGS10, RGS14, RGS16 and RGS18, Leukemia-associated Rho-GEF factor (LARG), and Galpha interacting protein (GAIP) were differentially expressed in platelets. The highest expression rate was found for RGS18 (about 1.3 fold when compared to GAPDH), followed by LARG, RGS6, RGS10 and RGS16 (0.7 to 0.95), whereas expression rates for RGS2, RGS3, RGS5, RGS14, and GAIP were in a range of 0.1 to 0.3. Our results suggest that G-protein-coupled receptor-mediated signalling in platelet may be regulated mainly by RGS 18, 16, 10, 6, and LARG.

1.The aim of the present study was to determine the PKs of marbofloxacin in beagle dogs after intravenous (i.v.) and intramuscular (i.m.) administration, the ex vivo and in vitro PK/PD indices of marbofloxacin against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, and the ex vivo AUC/MIC ratios associated with different levels of antibacterial activity. 2.After i.v. of marbofloxacin (2 mg/kg), the mean ± SEM values of AUC, t1/2β, Vss, and CL were 8.47 ± 3.51 h µg/mL, 8.08 ± 6.25 h, 2.32 ± 1.00 L/kg and 0.23 ± 0.06 L/kg/h and corresponding values after intramuscular injection were 11.37 ± 3.07 h µg/mL, 7.51 ± 3.70, 1.80 ± 0.90 L/kg and 0.17 ± 0.04 L/kg/h. After i.m. administration, a Cmax of 1.76 ± 0.09 µg/mL was achieved at Tmax of 0.47 ± 0.08 h. The ex-vivo AUC/MIC ratios required to produce bacteriostasis, bactericidal action and elimination of S. pseudintermedius were 65.03, 97.02 and 136.84 h. 3.The in vivo AUC/MIC ratios obtained after i.v. and i.m. administration of 2 mg/kg marbofloxacin (67.76 ± 1.23 and 91.18 ± 2.61) were below the ex vivo AUC/MIC ratios required for bactericidal activity and bacterial elimination (97.02 ± 9.24 2 mg/kg and 136.21 ± 7.58), suggesting that the recommended daily dosage (2 mg/kg) may not suffice to kill and eradicate S. pseudintermedius strains encountered in clinical area.

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