scholarly journals Concurrence of Porin Loss and Modular Amplification of β-Lactamase Encoding Genes Drives Carbapenem Resistance in a Cohort of Recurrent Enterobacterales Bacteremia

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Shropshire ◽  
Samuel L. Aitken ◽  
Reed Pifer ◽  
Jiwoong Kim ◽  
Micah M. Bhatti ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackgroundCarbapenem resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) remain urgent antimicrobial resistance threats. Approximately half of CRE clinical isolates lack carbapenem hydrolyzing enzymes and develop carbapenem resistance through alternative mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the development of carbapenem resistance mechanisms from clonal, recurrent extended-spectrum β-lactamase positive Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) bacteremia isolates in a vulnerable patient population.MethodsThis study investigated a historical, retrospective cohort of ESBL-E bacteremia cases in the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) from January 2015 to July 2016. Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analyses were performed to identify clonal, recurrent ESBL-E isolates developing carbapenem resistance. Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) long-read and Illumina short-read sequencing data were used to generate consensus assemblies and to identify signatures of mobile genetic element mediated amplification and transposition of antimicrobial resistance genes. Serial passaging experiments were performed on a set of clinical ST131 ESBL-E isolates to recapitulate in vivo observations. qPCR and qRT-PCR were used to determine respective copy number and transcript levels of β-lactamase genes.Results116 ESBL-E bacteremia cases were identified, 16 of which had documented recurrent infections. Four serial, recurrent isolates displayed a carbapenem resistant phenotype, three without the acquisition of a known carbapenemase. These three isolates had non-carbapenemase-producing CRE (non-CP-CRE) mechanisms driven by IS26- and ISEcp1-mediated amplification of respective translocatable units (TU) and transposition units (TPU) harboring both blaOXA-1 and blaCTX-M variants with concomitant outer membrane porin disruption. The TU and TPU structures inserted into the open reading frames of outer membrane porin genes in a subset of non-CP-CRE isolates. Serial passage of an index ST131 ESBL-E isolate under selective carbapenem exposure resulted in chromosomal amplification of modular, TUs harboring β-lactamase genes with concomitant porin inactivation, recapitulating the in vivo carbapenem resistance progression. Long-read sequencing of two additional MDACC bacteremia strains identified similar non-CP-CRE mechanisms observed in the serial isolates.ConclusionsNon-CP-CRE de novo mechanisms were the primary driver of CRE development in recurrent bacteremia cases within this vulnerable patient population. The incorporation of long-read ONT data into AMR surveillance platforms is critical to identify high-risk CRE isolates that are difficult to identify with low-resolution phenotypic and molecular characterization methods.

Author(s):  
William C Shropshire ◽  
Samuel L Aitken ◽  
Reed Pifer ◽  
Jiwoong Kim ◽  
Micah M Bhatti ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Approximately half of clinical carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) isolates lack carbapenem-hydrolysing enzymes and develop carbapenem resistance through alternative mechanisms. Objectives To elucidate development of carbapenem resistance mechanisms from clonal, recurrent ESBL-positive Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) bacteraemia isolates in a vulnerable patient population. Methods This study investigated a cohort of ESBL-E bacteraemia cases in Houston, TX, USA. Oxford Nanopore Technologies long-read and Illumina short-read sequencing data were used for comparative genomic analysis. Serial passaging experiments were performed on a set of clinical ST131 Escherichia coli isolates to recapitulate in vivo observations. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) and qRT–PCR were used to determine copy number and transcript levels of β-lactamase genes, respectively. Results Non-carbapenemase-producing CRE (non-CP-CRE) clinical isolates emerged from an ESBL-E background through a concurrence of primarily IS26-mediated amplifications of blaOXA-1 and blaCTX-M-1 group genes coupled with porin inactivation. The discrete, modular translocatable units (TUs) that carried and amplified β-lactamase genes mobilized intracellularly from a chromosomal, IS26-bound transposon and inserted within porin genes, thereby increasing β-lactamase gene copy number and inactivating porins concurrently. The carbapenem resistance phenotype and TU-mediated β-lactamase gene amplification were recapitulated by passaging a clinical ESBL-E isolate in the presence of ertapenem. Clinical non-CP-CRE isolates had stable carbapenem resistance phenotypes in the absence of ertapenem exposure. Conclusions These data demonstrate IS26-mediated mechanisms underlying β-lactamase gene amplification with concurrent outer membrane porin disruption driving emergence of clinical non-CP-CRE. Furthermore, these amplifications were stable in the absence of antimicrobial pressure. Long-read sequencing can be utilized to identify unique mobile genetic element mechanisms that drive antimicrobial resistance.


Author(s):  
Rabia Arshad

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is one of the research priorities of health organizations due to increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Outbreaks of nosocomial infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter Baumannii (CRAB) strains are at rise worldwide. Antimicrobial resistance to carbapenems reduces clinical therapeutic choices and frequently led to treatment failure. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii isolated from patients in intensive care units (ICUs). Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, Basic Medical Sciences Institute (BMSI), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi, from December 2016 to November 2017. Total 63 non-repetitive A. baumannii were collected from the patients’ specimens, admitted to medical and surgical ICUs and wards of JPMC, Karachi. The bacterial isolates were processed according to standard microbiological procedures to observe for carbapenem resistance. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis. Results: Out of the 63 patients, 40 (63.5%) were male. The age of the patient ranged from 15-85 year, with average of 43 year. 34.9% patients had been hospitalized for 3 days. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was present in highest number with average of 58.7% for morbidity. Number of patients on mechanical ventilation was highest (65.1%). All isolates were susceptible to colistin. The resistance to ampicillin-sulbactam, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, piperacillin- tazobactam and meropenem was 82.5%, 81%, 100%, 87.3%, 82.5% and 82% respectively. Out of 82% CRAB, 77% were obtained from ICUs. Conclusion: This study has revealed the high rate of carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii isolates in ICUs thus leaving behind limited therapeutic options.


Author(s):  
Brian M Forde ◽  
Andrew Henderson ◽  
Elliott G Playford ◽  
David Looke ◽  
Belinda C Henderson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Diphtheria is a potentially fatal respiratory disease caused by toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Although resistance to erythromycin has been recognized, β-lactam resistance in toxigenic diphtheria has not been described. Here, we report a case of fatal respiratory diphtheria caused by toxigenic C. diphtheriae resistant to penicillin and all other β-lactam antibiotics, and describe a novel mechanism of inducible carbapenem resistance associated with the acquisition of a mobile resistance element. Methods Long-read whole-genome sequencing was performed using Pacific Biosciences Single Molecule Real-Time sequencing to determine the genome sequence of C. diphtheriae BQ11 and the mechanism of β-lactam resistance. To investigate the phenotypic inducibility of meropenem resistance, short-read sequencing was performed using an Illumina NextSeq500 sequencer on the strain both with and without exposure to meropenem. Results BQ11 demonstrated high-level resistance to penicillin (benzylpenicillin minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] ≥ 256 μg/ml), β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitors and cephalosporins (amoxicillin/clavulanic acid MIC ≥ 256 μg/mL; ceftriaxone MIC ≥ 8 μg/L). Genomic analysis of BQ11 identified acquisition of a novel transposon carrying the penicillin-binding protein (PBP) Pbp2c, responsible for resistance to penicillin and cephalosporins. When strain BQ11 was exposed to meropenem, selective pressure drove amplification of the transposon in a tandem array and led to a corresponding change from a low-level to a high-level meropenem-resistant phenotype. Conclusions We have identified a novel mechanism of inducible antibiotic resistance whereby isolates that appear to be carbapenem susceptible on initial testing can develop in vivo resistance to carbapenems with repeated exposure. This phenomenon could have significant implications for the treatment of C. diphtheriae infection, and may lead to clinical failure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana M. Rada ◽  
Elsa De La Cadena ◽  
Carlos Agudelo ◽  
Cesar Capataz ◽  
Nataly Orozco ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) pose a significant threat to global public health. The most important mechanism for carbapenem resistance is the production of carbapenemases. Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) represents one of the main carbapenemases worldwide. Complex mechanisms of blaKPC dissemination have been reported in Colombia, a country with a high endemicity of carbapenem resistance. Here, we characterized the dynamics of dissemination of blaKPC gene among CRE infecting and colonizing patients in three hospitals localized in a highly endemic area of Colombia (2013 and 2015). We identified the genomic characteristics of KPC-producing Enterobacterales recovered from patients infected/colonized and reconstructed the dynamics of dissemination of blaKPC-2 using both short and long read sequencing. We found that spread of blaKPC-2 among Enterobacterales in the participating hospitals was due to intra- and interspecies horizontal gene transfer (HGT) mediated by promiscuous plasmids associated with transposable elements that was originated from a multispecies outbreak of KPC-producing Enterobacterales in a neonatal intensive care unit. The plasmids were detected in isolates recovered in other units within the same hospital and nearby hospitals. The gene “epidemic” was driven by IncN-pST15-type plasmids carrying a novel Tn4401b structure and non-Tn4401 elements (NTEKPC) in Klebsiella spp., Escherichia coli, Enterobacter spp., and Citrobacter spp. Of note, mcr-9 was found to coexist with blaKPC-2 in species of the Enterobacter cloacae complex. Our findings suggest that the main mechanism for dissemination of blaKPC-2 is HGT mediated by highly transferable plasmids among species of Enterobacterales in infected/colonized patients, presenting a major challenge for public health interventions in developing countries such as Colombia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S285-S285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Yasmin ◽  
Steven Marshall ◽  
Michael Jacobs ◽  
Daniel D Rhoads ◽  
Laura J Rojas ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Vaborbactam is a cyclic boronic acid β-lactamase inhibitor (BLI) developed to potently inhibit Ambler class A&C enzymes, including KPC carbapenemases. Metallo-β-lactamases (MBL) and some Class D oxacillinases (OXA) are not inactivated by vaborbactam. Meropenem-vaborbactam (MV) was recently approved for the treatment of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae complicated urinary tract infections. Recent studies have identified outer membrane porin (Ompk35 and -36) mutations in Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) as a mechanism of decreased susceptibility to MV. We evaluated the activity of MV against a historical cohort of KP clinical isolates with these porin gene mutations. Methods WGS of carbapenem-resistant KP clinical isolates was performed and those harboring mutations in Ompk35 or Ompk36 were selected for testing. Strain KP ATCC BAA-1705 was used as a positive control. Meropenem and MV minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by broth microdilution (BMD) in custom 96-well plates (ThermoFisher Scientific) with a constant 8 µg/mL vaborbactam concentration. The MIC of ceftazidime–avibactam (CZA) was determined by standard BMD reference methods and interpreted according to CLSI criteria. Results A total of 105 KP isolates with either partial or complete mutations in outer membrane porin genes were included in the analysis. All isolates were resistant to Meropenem. The median MV MIC was 0.03 µg/mL (range, 0.015 to >16 µg/mL). Eleven isolates (10.4%) were resistant to MV. Sixteen additional isolates (16.1%) demonstrated higher than expected MV MICs ranging from 1 to 4 µg/mL. Only 1/11 resistant isolates harbored a gene for MBL production. Gene mutations in blaKPC were not detected. See Table 1 for characteristics of resistant isolates. Conclusion Resistance and decreased susceptibility to MV is demonstrated in a historical cohort of KP clinical isolates dating back to 2013. WGS reliably identifies porin variants secondary to gene mutations in Ompk35 and Ompk36 as the underlying mechanism of decreased susceptibility. CZA appears to retain activity against these isolates. Caution should be exercised regarding the empiric use of MV against increasingly resistant KP as a result of non-β-lactamase-mediated mechanisms. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung-Jen Tang ◽  
Yee-Huang Ku ◽  
Mei-Feng Lee ◽  
Yin-Ching Chuang ◽  
Wen-Liang Yu

We investigated the synergism of colistin and imipenem against a multidrug-resistantK. pneumoniaeisolate which was recovered from a severe hip infection. PCR and DNA sequencing were used to characterize the outer membrane porin genes and the resistance genes mediating the commonβ-lactamases and carbapenemases. Synergism was evaluated by time-kill studies. TheblaSHV-31,blaCMY-2, andblaDHA-1were detected. Outer membrane porin genes analysis revealed loss ofompK36and frame-shift mutation ofompK35. The common carbapenemase genes were not found. Time-kill studies demonstrated that a combination of 1x MIC of colistin (2 mg/L) and 1x MIC of imipenem (8 mg/L) was synergistic and bactericidal but with inoculum effect. Bactericidal activity without inoculum effect was observed by concentration of 2x MIC of colistin alone or plus 2x MIC of imipenem. In conclusion, colistin plus imipenem could be an alternative option to treat carbapenem-resistantK. pneumoniaeinfections.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aki Hirabayashi ◽  
Koji Yahara ◽  
Satomi Mitsuhashi ◽  
So Nakagawa ◽  
Tadashi Imanishi ◽  
...  

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) represent a serious threat to public health due to limited management of severe infections and high mortality. The rate of resistance of Enterobacteriaceae isolates to major antimicrobials, including carbapenems, is much higher in Vietnam than in Western countries, but the reasons remain unknown due to the lack of genomic epidemiology research. A previous study suggested that carbapenem resistance genes, such as the carbapenemase gene bla NDM-1 , spread via plasmids among Enterobacteriaceae in Vietnam. In this study, we performed detection and molecular characterization of bla NDM-1 -carrying plasmids in CRE isolated in Vietnam, and identified several possible cases of horizontal transfer of plasmids both within and among species of bacteria. Twenty-five carbapenem-resistant isolates from Enterobacteriaceae clinically isolated in a reference medical institution in Hanoi were sequenced on Illumina short-read sequencers, and 12 isolates harboring bla NDM-1 were sequenced on an Oxford Nanopore Technologies long-read sequencer to obtain complete plasmid sequences. Most of the plasmids co-carried genes conferring resistance to clinically relevant antimicrobials, including third-generation cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, and fluoroquinolones, in addition to bla NDM-1 , leading to multidrug resistance of their bacterial hosts. These results provide insight into the genetic basis of CRE in Vietnam, and could help control nosocomial infections.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun-Ying Zhu ◽  
Guang-Yu Wang ◽  
Qing Wei ◽  
Zhen Shen ◽  
Qiong Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Although carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) and hypermucoviscous K. pneumoniae (HMKP) were largely non-overlapping, the recent emergence of CR-HMKP has raised great alarm in the world. We compared the molecular characteristics of CRKP, HMKP and CR-HMKP isolates.Results: 220 cases of K. pneumoniae isolates was collected and identified between Jan 2015 and Dec 2016 from Renji Hospital. Carbapenem resistance test and string test were performed to screen CRKP, HMKP and CR-HMKP isolates. All the CRKP, HMKP and CR-HMKP isolates were investigated for capsular genotyping, virulence genes and resistance genes by PCR and DNA sequencing. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to characterize isolates sequence types (STs). Serum killing assay and mouse lethality assay were respectively performed to confirm the virulence of the isolates in vitro and in vivo. Of 220 K. pneumoniae,71 HMKP, 84 CRKP and 8 CR-HMKP were identified. Resistance rate to carbapenems was significantly higher in CRKP than HMKP and CR-HMKP. For MLST and serotyping, ST23 (26.8%),K1 (33.8%) and K2 (23.9%) serotypes were the most common in HMKP isolates while ST11 (84.5%, 100%) and K-nontypable (91.6%, 100%) were the predominant types in CRKP and CR-HMKP isolates. The existence of virulence genes rmpA, magA and iutA was significantly higher in HMKP while the prevalence of resistance gene blaKPC-2 was higher in CRKP and CR-HMKP. Virulence test in vivo and in vitro both showed the lower virulence of CRKP and CR-HMKP compared to HMKP.Conclusions: In spite of low virulence, the emergence of CR-HMKP indicates a confluence of hypermucoviscous phenotype and carbapenem resistance. Furthermore, the similar molecular characteristics between CRKP and CR-HMKP suggested that CR-HMKP might evolve from CRKP.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoling Yu ◽  
Wen Zhang ◽  
Zhiping Zhao ◽  
Chengsong Ye ◽  
Shuyan Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract The enhancing incidence of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP)-mediated infections in Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital of Fujian Medical University in 2017 promoted this investigation to study gene phenotypes and resistance genes of emergence regarding the CRKP strains. In current study, seven inpatients are enrolled in the hospital with complete treatments. The carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae whole genome is sequenced using MiSeq short-read and Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing technology. Prophages are identified to assess genetic diversity within CRKP genomes. The investigation encompassed eight CRKP strains that collected from the patients enrolled as well as the environment, which illustrate that bla KPC-2 is responsible for phenotypic resistance in six CRKP strains that K . pneumoniae sequence type (ST-11) is inferred. The plasmid with IncR, ColRNAI and pMLST type with IncF[F33:A-:B-] co-exist in all ST-11 with KPC-2-producing CRKP strains. Along with carbapenemases, all K. pneumoniae strains harbor two or three extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing genes. F osA gene is detected amongst all the CRKP strains. The oqxA and oqxB expressions in CRKP strains may lead to carbapenem resistance since antimicrobials are expelled from pathogenic bacteria by efflux pump. The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) markers are indicated and validated among all CRKP strains, providing valuable clues for distinguishing carbapenem-resistant strains from conventional K. pneumoniae .


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