Curative effects of sodium fusidate on the development of dinitrobenzenesulfonic acid-induced colitis in rats

Fusidic acid and sodium fusidate (fusidin) are antibiotics with low toxicity and powerful immunomodulatory activities in vitro and in vivo. In this study we have evaluated the effect of fusidin on the development of dinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (DNB)-induced colitis in rats that serves as a preclinical model of human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The data show that when administered orally at the dose of 80 (but not 40) mg/kg body wt under a "therapeutic" regimen soon after DNB application, fusidin significantly ameliorates clinical, histological, and seroimmunological signs of disease. These entailed a significant reduction in body weight loss, smaller increase in colon weights, milder macroscopic damage, and lower histological scores. In addition, when sacrificed at the end of the study, fusidin-treated rats had significantly lower blood levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interferon-gamma compared with untreated controls. The present findings concur with the beneficial actions of fusidin in a pilot study conducted in patients with Crohn's disease and warrant controlled studies in humans with IBD.