Demeclocycline (

INN Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

, BAN,

USAN 280px, "Samguk Sagi" Book 04. Silla's Records. In 512, Usan-guk（于山國）was Ulleungdo（鬱陵島） Usan-guk, or the State of Usan, occupied Ulleung-do and the adjacent islands during the Korean Three Kingdoms period. According to t ...

, brand name Declomycin) is a tetracycline antibiotic which was derived from a mutant strain of ''

Streptomyces aureofaciens ''Kitasatospora aureofaciens'' is a species of ''Kitasatospora'', and the source of many tetracycline antibiotics. The organism was first isolated at Sanborn Field on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, Missouri, US; the site became a ...

''.

Uses

Demeclocycline is officially indicated for the treatment of various types of

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

s. It is used as an antibiotic in the treatment of

Lyme disease Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a tick-borne disease caused by species of ''Borrelia'' bacteria, Disease vector, transmitted by blood-feeding ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. It is the most common disease spread by ticks in th ...

acne Acne ( ), also known as ''acne vulgaris'', is a long-term Cutaneous condition, skin condition that occurs when Keratinocyte, dead skin cells and Sebum, oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Typical features of the condition include comedo, ...

, and

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

. Resistance, though, is gradually becoming more common, and demeclocycline is now rarely used for treatment of infections. Retrieved on October 27, 2008. It is widely used (though

off-label Off-label use is the use of pharmaceutical drugs for an unapproved indication (medicine), indication or in an unapproved age group, dose (biochemistry), dosage, or route of administration. Both prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs (OTCs) ca ...

in many countries including the United States) in the treatment of

hyponatremia Hyponatremia or hyponatraemia is a low concentration of sodium in the Serum (blood), blood. It is generally defined as a sodium concentration of less than 135 mmol/L (135 mEq/L), with severe hyponatremia being below 120 mEq/L. Symp ...

(low blood

sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

concentration) due to the

syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH), also known as the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD), is characterized by a physiologically inappropriate release of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) either from the posterio ...

(SIADH) when fluid restriction alone has been ineffective. Physiologically, this works by reducing the responsiveness of the collecting tubule cells to ADH. The use in SIADH actually relies on a side effect; demeclocycline induces nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (dehydration due to the inability to concentrate urine). The use of demeclocycline in SIADH was first reported in 1975, and, in 1978, a larger study found it to be more effective and better tolerated than

lithium carbonate Lithium carbonate is an inorganic compound, the lithium salt of carbonic acid with the chemical formula, formula . This white Salt (chemistry), salt is widely used in processing metal oxides. It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, Wor ...

, the only available treatment at the time. Demeclocycline used to be the drug of choice for treating SIADH. Meanwhile, it might be superseded, now that

vasopressin receptor antagonist A vasopressin receptor antagonist (VRA) is an agent that interferes with action at the vasopressin receptors. Most commonly VRAs are used in the treatment of hyponatremia, especially in patients with congestive heart failure, liver cirrhosis or ...

s, such as

tolvaptan Tolvaptan, sold under the brand name Samsca among others, is an aquaretic drug that functions as a selective, competitive antagonist, competitive vasopressin receptor antagonist, vasopressin receptor 2 (V2) antagonist used to treat hyponatremia ( ...

, became available.

Contraindications

Like other tetracyclines, demeclocycline is contraindicated in children and pregnant or nursing women. All members of this class interfere with

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

development and may discolour

teeth A tooth (: teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

Side effects and interactions

The side effects are similar to those of other tetracyclines. Skin reactions with sunlight have been reported. Like only few other known tetracycline derivatives, demeclocycline causes nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. Furthermore, demeclocycline might have

psychotropic A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, mind-altering drug, consciousness-altering drug, psychoactive substance, or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that alters psychological functioning by modulating central nervous system acti ...

side effects similar to

lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...

. Tetracyclines bind to

cation An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

s, such as

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

(when given orally), and

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

, rendering them insoluble and nonadsorbable for the gastrointestinal tract. Demeclocycline should not be taken with food (particularly milk and other dairy products) or

antacid An antacid is a substance which neutralization (chemistry), neutralizes gastric acid, stomach acidity and is used to relieve heartburn, indigestion, or an upset stomach. Some antacids have been used in the treatment of constipation and diarrhe ...

Mechanism of action

As with related tetracycline antibiotics, demeclocycline acts by binding to the

30S The prokaryotic small ribosomal subunit, or 30Svedberg, S subunit, is the smaller subunit of the 70S ribosome found in prokaryotes. It is a complex of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and 19 proteins. This complex is implicated in the binding of tr ...

ribosomal subunit to inhibit binding of aminoacyl tRNA which impairs

protein synthesis Protein biosynthesis, or protein synthesis, is a core biological process, occurring inside cells, balancing the loss of cellular proteins (via degradation or export) through the production of new proteins. Proteins perform a number of critica ...

by bacteria. It is

bacteriostatic A bacteriostatic agent or bacteriostat, abbreviated Bstatic, is a biological or chemical agent that stops bacteria from reproducing, while not necessarily killing them otherwise. Depending on their application, bacteriostatic antibiotics, disinfec ...

(it impairs bacterial growth, but does not kill bacteria directly). Demeclocycline inhibits the

renal In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and right in the retrop ...

action of

antidiuretic hormone Mammalian vasopressin, also called antidiuretic hormone (ADH), arginine vasopressin (AVP) or argipressin, is a hormone synthesized from the ''AVP'' gene as a peptide prohormone in neurons in the hypothalamus, and is converted to AVP. It ...

by interfering with the

intracellular This glossary of biology terms is a list of definitions of fundamental terms and concepts used in biology, the study of life and of living organisms. It is intended as introductory material for novices; for more specific and technical definitions ...

second messenger cascade (specifically, inhibiting

adenylyl cyclase Adenylate cyclase (EC 4.6.1.1, also commonly known as adenyl cyclase and adenylyl cyclase, abbreviated AC) is an enzyme with systematic name ATP diphosphate-lyase (cyclizing; 3′,5′-cyclic-AMP-forming). It catalyzes the following reaction: :A ...

activation) after the hormone binds to vasopressin V₂ receptors in the

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

. Exactly how demeclocycline does this has yet to be elucidated, however.

Brand names

Brand names include Declomycin, Declostatin, Ledermycin, Bioterciclin, Deganol, Deteclo, Detravis, Meciclin, Mexocine, and Clortetrin.

References

{{Oxytocin and vasopressin receptor modulators Tetracycline antibiotics Chloroarenes Carboxamides Drugs with unknown mechanisms of action Triketones Nephrotoxins Dimethylamino compounds