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Figure 4.
Rifaximin synergizes with clarithromycin to reduce the load of M. abscessus in infected zebrafish larvae. (a) Infected fish treated with various concentrations of clarithromycin. (b) The bacterial burdens of animals treated with rifaximin only were compared with those of animals treated with rifaximin and clarithromycin in combination. Bedaquiline (BDQ; 3 mg/L) was used as a control becuase it has demonstrated efficacy against M. abscessus in zebrafish embryos.24 Note that each dot plotted represents five larvae homogenized together. Fish were infected in the hindbrain ventricle at 48 hours post-fertilization (hpf), and treatment began at 72 hpf. Treatment was maintained for 4 days with daily water changes before the fish were assessed for bacterial burden. Clr, clarithromycin; ns, non-significant; Rfx, rifaximin.