Inhaled tigecycline for M. abscessus

Mycobacterium abscessus causes chronic pulmonary infections. Owing to its resistance to most classes of antibiotics, treatment is complex and cure rates are low. Tigecycline is active against M. abscessus, but severe toxicity and the need for intravenous administration limit its use. We aimed to assess the efficacy of inhaled tigecycline in a mouse model of chronic M. abscessus pulmonary disease, establish the intracellular activity of tigecycline against M. abscessus in human macrophages and measure the effect of sputum of cystic fibrosis patients on the activity of tigecycline.