In vitro synergism between daptomycin and fosfomycin against Enterococcus faecalis isolates with high-level gentamicin resistance

Abstract

Daptomycin and fosfomycin are two agents which inhibit different steps in peptidoglycan synthesis. We studied the in vitro activities of these drugs, alone and in combination, by time-kill techniques against 21 clinical isolates of Enterococcus (Streptococcus) faecalis demonstrating high-level resistance to gentamicin. Combinations of fosfomycin and daptomycin exhibited synergistic bactericidal activity (100-fold decrease in CFU per milliliter at 24 h compared with daptomycin alone) against all strains (mean +/- standard deviation of increment in killing = 2.7 +/- 0.7 log10 CFU/ml). In a subgroup of strains against which daptomycin (5 micrograms/ml) alone was bactericidal (greater than 3 log10 killing), synergistic activity was demonstrable only when the concentration of daptomycin was lowered to 0.25 to 0.5 microgram/ml. A 50% dilution of human serum diminished the bactericidal activity of daptomycin alone at 24 h but did not affect killing observed with the daptomycin-fosfomycin combination. The inhibition of peptidoglycan synthesis by the combination was greater than the inhibition observed with either drug alone. The combination of daptomycin and fosfomycin exhibited consistent synergistic bactericidal activity against strains of E. faecalis possessing high-level resistance to gentamicin. This synergism may be the result of sequential inhibition of early steps in peptidoglycan synthesis.