Use of normal C57BL/6 mice with established Mycobacterium avium infections as an alternative model for evaluation of antibiotic activity

Several routine models have been used to evaluate the activities of antimicrobial agents against Mycobacterium avium infection. The main model used is the beige mouse model, but beige mice are expensive and not easily available. Thus, we developed a model of infection in wild C57BL/6 mice. The drugs that exhibited some activity in a previous model of early infection were evaluated in a new model of established infection. Sparfloxacin (50 mg/kg of body weight), ethambutol (50 mg/kg), minocycline (25 mg/kg), and the inhibitor of the cortisol receptors RU-40555 (100 mg/kg) were compared with clarithromycin (50 mg/kg). Treatments were started 5 weeks after the inoculation and were continued for 21 days. Sparfloxacin and RU-40555, which exhibited a moderate activity in the model of early infection, were not effective in this model of established infection. Clarithromycin and combinations with clarithromycin kept their activities against M. avium infection, both in the spleen and in lungs. The present model of established infection of normal C57BL/6 mice is more relevant than the model of early infection for a stringent evaluation of drugs.