Oxiconazole Potentiates Gentamicin against Gentamicin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus <i>In Vitro</i> and <i>In Vivo</i>
Grace Kaul, Abdul Akhir, Manjulika Shukla, Hasham S. Sofi, Ravikumar Akunuri, Gaurav Pawar, Mahammad Ghouse, Nanduri Srinivas, Sidharth Chopra
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus, which causes the majority of nosocomial and community-acquired infections globally, is a WHO high-priority pathogen for antibiotic research and development. In addition to invasive infections, it is the causative agent of moderate to severe skin infections, with an increasing prevalence of infections caused by MDR strains such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Our study highlights the repurposing of oxiconazole, a topical antifungal agent, as an ideal candidate for combination therapy with gentamicin against susceptible and drug-resistant S. aureus skin infections due to its extremely low propensity for resistance generation in S. aureus, activity against MDR strains, bactericidal killing kinetics alone and in combination, broad antifungal efficacy, and excellent safety and tolerability profile.