Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC)

The Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) is a group of rapidly growing, multi-drug resistant nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) that pose a significant challenge in clinical medicine. The complex is comprised of three subspecies: M. abscessus subsp. abscessus, M. abscessus subsp. massiliense, and M. abscessus subsp. bolletii [2][3]. MABC is primarily associated with chronic pulmonary infections in individuals with pre-existing lung conditions like cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis, but it also causes skin, soft tissue, and bone infections following surgical procedures or trauma [1][4]. Treatment is exceptionally difficult due to the pathogen's high level of intrinsic resistance to most standard antibiotics, often mediated by mechanisms such as the erm(41) gene, which confers inducible macrolide resistance [2][5]. Consequently, therapeutic management requires prolonged multi-drug regimens (often 12-24 months) involving intravenous and oral agents, which are frequently associated with significant toxicity and low cure rates. In drug discovery, rather than being a single molecular target, MABC serves as the target organism for which novel inhibitors of the mycobacterial cell wall, protein synthesis machinery, and metabolic pathways are actively sought [1][4].

Other names

M. abscessus complexMycobacterium abscessus groupRapidly growing mycobacteriaMABC

Drugs targeting this complex typically inhibit bacterial protein synthesis (aminoglycosides, macrolides, oxazolidinones), interfere with cell wall synthesis (beta-lactams), or inhibit ATP synthase (diarylquinolines) [1][2].