Introduction. The spread of resistance to carbapenems among gram-negative bacteria have led to an increase in the consumption of polymyxins and the emergence of certain strains resistant to them. Polymyxin resistance is mainly associated with mutations in chromosomal genes. The development of mutational resistance to antibiotics can lead to a decrease in the viability of bacteria, which is manifested by an increase in the duration of the cell cycle, a decrease in virulence and competitive fitness. The purpose of the study was to assess in vitro the intensity of the formation of colistin resistance in carbapenemresistant clinical isolates of gram-negative bacteria, the stability of the formed emerged resistance and its biological cost.Materials and methods. For 46 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, 77 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 42 strains of Acinetobacter baumannii, real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the genes of carbapenemases, the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of meropenem and colistin were determined by broth microdilution method. The selection of resistant subpopulations on Muller–Hinton agar with the addition of 16 mg/l colistin was carried out. For colistin-resistant mutants and their isogenic sensitive strains, the kinetic parameters of growth in broth culture were determined. Incubation and result recording were performed on an Infinite M200 microplate reader for 18.5 hours at 35°C with measurement of light scatter in the wells every 15 minutes.Results. The production of carbapenemases MBL VIM in P. aeruginosa, MBL NDM, KPC and OXA-48 in K. pneumoniae, OXA-23 and OXA-40 in A. baumannii was observed. All strains were sensitive to colistin (MIC varied from 0.062 to 2 mg/l). The colony growth on a selective medium with16 mg/l colistin was observed for 97.8% of K. pneumoniae strains, 16.9% of P. aeruginosa strains, and 61.9% of A. baumannii strains. The mutational nature of colistin resistance was confirmed for 21.7% of K. pneumoniae strains. For colistin-resistant mutants of K. pneumoniae, a significant increase in the duration of the lag phase (Tlag) was observed: 225.6 ± 7.037 min in the wild-type susceptible strains and 245.5 ± 8.726 in resistant mutants, p = 0.037. The indicators of the doubling time of the number of microbial cells in the exponential growth phase (Tdoubling) and the area under the bacterial growth curve did not differ significantly.Conclusion. A high frequency of formation of colistin resistance in vitro in carbapenemase-producing strains of K. pneumoniae was observed. The absence of significant changes in the kinetics of microbial growth in resistant strains makes it possible to predict the further spread of mutational resistance to colistin, as well as its preservation in microbial populations of K. pneumoniae even in the case of limiting the use of this antibiotic.
Factors affecting the lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme pattern of cultured kidney-cortex cells