Cephaloridine - History

History

Since the discovery of cephalosporins P, N and C in 1948 there have been many studies describing the antibiotic action of cephalosporins and the possibility to synthesize derivatives. Hydrolysis of cephalosporin C, isolation of 7-aminocephalosporanic acid and the addition of side chains opened the possibility to produce various semi-synthetic cephalosporins. In 1962, cephalothin and cephaloridine were introduced.

Cephaloridine was temporary popular because it was better tolerated intramuscular and attained in higher and more sustained levels in blood than cephalothin. However, it binds to proteins to a much lesser extent than cephalothin. Because it is also poorly absorbed after oral administration the use of this drug for humans declined rapidly, especially since the second generation of cephalosporins was introduced in the 1970s. Today it is more commonly used in veterinary practice to treat mild to severe bacterial infections caused by penicillin resistant and penicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus sutbtilis, Klebsiella, Clostridium diptheriae, Salmonella and Shigella. Interest in studying cephalosporins was brought about by some unusual properties of cephaloridine. This antibiotic stands in sharp contrast to various other cephalosporins and to the structurally related penicillins in undergoing little or no net secretion by the mammalian kidney. Cephaloridine is, however, highly cytotoxic to the proximal renal tubule, the segment of the nephron responsible for the secretion of organic anions, including para-am-minohippurate (PAH), as well as the various penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics. The cytotoxicity of cephaloridine is completely prevented by probenecid and several other inhibitors of organic anion transport, including the nearly nontoxic cephalothin.