scholarly journals Roles of MexXY- and MexAB-multidrug efflux pumps in intrinsic multidrug resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1.

2001 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuji Morita ◽  
Nobuhisa Kimura ◽  
Takehiko Mima ◽  
Tohru Mizushima ◽  
Tomofusa Tsuchiya
1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramakrishnan Srikumar ◽  
Tatiana Kon ◽  
Naomasa Gotoh ◽  
Keith Poole

ABSTRACT The mexCD-oprJ and mexAB-oprM operons encode components of two distinct multidrug efflux pumps inPseudomonas aeruginosa. To assess the contribution of individual components to antibiotic resistance and substrate specificity, these operons and their component genes were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Western immunoblotting confirmed expression of the P. aeruginosa efflux pump components in E. coli strains expressing and deficient in the endogenous multidrug efflux system (AcrAB), although only the ΔacrAB strain, KZM120, demonstrated increased resistance to antibiotics in the presence of the P. aeruginosa efflux genes. E. coli KZM120 expressing MexAB-OprM showed increased resistance to quinolones, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, azithromycin, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), crystal violet, novobiocin, and, significantly, several β-lactams, which is reminiscent of the operation of this pump in P. aeruginosa. This confirmed previous suggestions that MexAB-OprM provides a direct contribution to β-lactam resistance via the efflux of this group of antibiotics. An increase in antibiotic resistance, however, was not observed when MexAB or OprM alone was expressed in KZM120. Thus, despite the fact that β-lactams act within the periplasm, OprM alone is insufficient to provide resistance to these agents. E. coli KZM120 expressing MexCD-OprJ also showed increased resistance to quinolones, chloramphenicol, macrolides, SDS, and crystal violet, though not to most β-lactams or novobiocin, again somewhat reminiscent of the antibiotic resistance profile of MexCD-OprJ-expressing strains ofP. aeruginosa. Surprisingly, E. coli KZM120 expressing MexCD alone also showed an increase in resistance to these agents, while an OprJ-expressing KZM120 failed to demonstrate any increase in antibiotic resistance. MexCD-mediated resistance, however, was absent in a tolC mutant of KZM120, indicating that MexCD functions in KZM120 in conjunction with TolC, the previously identified outer membrane component of the AcrAB-TolC efflux system. These data confirm that a tripartite efflux pump is necessary for the efflux of all substrate antibiotics and that the P. aeruginosa multidrug efflux pumps are functional and retain their substrate specificity in E. coli.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 2990-2992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Sekiya ◽  
Takehiko Mima ◽  
Yuji Morita ◽  
Teruo Kuroda ◽  
Tohru Mizushima ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We isolated mutant YM644, which showed elevated resistance to norfloxacin, ethidium bromide, acriflavine, and rhodamine 6G, from Pseudomonas aeruginosa YM64, a strain that lacks four major multidrug efflux pumps. The genes responsible for the resistance were mexHI-opmD. Elevated ethidium extrusion was observed with cells of YM644 and YM64 harboring a plasmid carrying the genes. Disruption of the genes in the chromosomal DNA of YM644 made the cells sensitive to the drugs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Alcalde-Rico ◽  
Jorge Olivares-Pacheco ◽  
Nigel Halliday ◽  
Miguel Cámara ◽  
José Luis Martínez

AbstractMultidrug efflux pumps are key determinants for antibiotic resistance. Besides contributing to intrinsic resistance, their overexpression is frequently a cause of the increased resistance acquired during therapy. In addition to their role in resistance to antimicrobials, efflux pumps are ancient and conserved elements with relevant roles in different aspects of the bacterial physiology. It is then conceivable that their overexpression might cause a burden that will be translated into a fitness cost associated with the acquisition of resistance. In the case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, it has been stated that overexpression of different efflux pumps is linked to the impairment of the quorum sensing (QS) response. Nevertheless, the causes of such impairment are different for each analyzed efflux pump. In this study, we performed an in-depth analysis of the QS-mediated response of a P. aeruginosa antibiotic resistant mutant that overexpresses MexAB-OprM. Although previous work claimed that this efflux pump extrudes the QS signal 3-oxo-C12-HSL, we show otherwise. Our results suggest that the observed attenuation in the QS response when overexpressing this pump is related to a reduced availability of intracellular octanoate, one of the precursors of the biosynthesis of alkyl quinolone QS signals. The overexpression of other P. aeruginosa efflux pumps has been shown to also cause a reduction in intracellular levels of QS signals or their precursors impacting on these signaling mechanisms. However, the molecules involved are distinct for each efflux pump, indicating that they can differentially contribute to the P. aeruginosa quorum sensing homeostasis.ImportanceThe success of bacterial pathogens to cause disease relies on their virulence capabilities as well as in their resistance to antibiotic interventions. In the case of the important nosocomial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, multidrug efflux pumps participate in the resistance/virulence crosstalk since, besides contributing to antibiotic resistance, they can also modulate the quorum sensing (QS) response. We show that mutants overexpressing the MexAB-OprM efflux pump, present an impaired QS response due to the reduced availability of the QS signal precursor octanoate, not because they extrude, as previously stated, the QS signal 3-oxo-C12-HSL. Together with previous studies, this indicates that, although the consequences of overexpressing efflux pumps are similar (impaired QS response), the mechanisms are different. This ‘apparent redundancy’ of RND efflux systems can be understood as a P. aeruginosa strategy to keep the robustness of the QS regulatory network and modulate its output in response to different signals.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 2413-2417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazmul Huda ◽  
Eun-Woo Lee ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
Yuji Morita ◽  
Teruo Kuroda ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A gene responsible for multidrug resistance was cloned from the chromosomal DNA of non-O1 Vibrio cholerae NCTC 4716 by using as a host drug-hypersensitive Escherichia coli strain KAM32, which lacks major multidrug efflux pumps. E. coli cells transformed with the gene showed elevated levels of resistance to a number of structurally dissimilar drugs, such as tetracycline, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, doxorubicin, daunomycin, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, and Hoechst 33342. We determined the nucleotide sequence and found one open reading frame. We designated the gene vcaM. The deduced product, VcaM, seems to be a polypeptide with 619 amino acid residues (69 kDa) that has a putative topology of six transmembrane segments in the N-terminal hydrophobic domain, followed by an ATP binding domain in the C-terminal hydrophilic region. The sequence of VcaM was shown to be similar to those of human multidrug resistance proteins P-glycoprotein MDR1 and lactococcal LmrA, which are driven by ATP. The efflux of Hoechst 33342 and doxorubicin from cells possessing VcaM was detected. The efflux activity was inhibited by reserpine and sodium o-vanadate, which are potent inhibitors of MDR1 and LmrA. Thus, we conclude that VcaM is a member of the family of multidrug efflux pumps of the ATP binding cassette type and the first experimentally proven example of a multidrug efflux pump of this family in gram-negative bacteria.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Heacock-Kang ◽  
Zhenxin Sun ◽  
Jan Zarzycki-Siek ◽  
Kanchana Poonsuk ◽  
Ian A. McMillan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT It is generally believed that the Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm matrix itself acts as a molecular sieve or sink that contributes to significant levels of drug resistance, but it is becoming more apparent that multidrug efflux pumps induced during biofilm growth significantly enhance resistance levels. We present here a novel transcriptional regulator, PA3898, which controls biofilm formation and multidrug efflux pumps in P. aeruginosa. A mutant of this regulator significantly reduced the ability of P. aeruginosa to produce biofilm in vitro and affected its in vivo fitness and pathogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster and BALB/c mouse lung infection models. Transcriptome analysis revealed that PA3898 modulates essential virulence genes/pathways, including multidrug efflux pumps and phenazine biosynthesis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) identified its DNA binding sequences and confirmed that PA3898 directly interacts with promoter regions of four genes/operons, two of which are mexAB-oprM and phz2. Coimmunoprecipitation revealed a regulatory partner of PA3898 as PA2100, and both are required for binding to DNA in electrophoretic mobility shift assays. PA3898 and PA2100 were given the names MdrR1 and MdrR2, respectively, as novel repressors of the mexAB-oprM multidrug efflux operon and activators for another multidrug efflux pump, EmrAB. The interaction between MdrR1 and MdrR2 at the promoter regions of their regulons was further characterized via localized surface plasmon resonance and DNA footprinting. These regulators directly repress the mexAB-oprM operon, independent of its well-established MexR regulator. Mutants of mdrR1 and mdrR2 caused increased resistance to multiple antibiotics in P. aeruginosa, validating the significance of these newly discovered regulators.


2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 582-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip D. Lister ◽  
Daniel J. Wolter ◽  
Nancy D. Hanson

SUMMARY Treatment of infectious diseases becomes more challenging with each passing year. This is especially true for infections caused by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with its ability to rapidly develop resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics. Although the import of resistance mechanisms on mobile genetic elements is always a concern, the most difficult challenge we face with P. aeruginosa is its ability to rapidly develop resistance during the course of treating an infection. The chromosomally encoded AmpC cephalosporinase, the outer membrane porin OprD, and the multidrug efflux pumps are particularly relevant to this therapeutic challenge. The discussion presented in this review highlights the clinical significance of these chromosomally encoded resistance mechanisms, as well as the complex mechanisms/pathways by which P. aeruginosa regulates their expression. Although a great deal of knowledge has been gained toward understanding the regulation of AmpC, OprD, and efflux pumps in P. aeruginosa, it is clear that we have much to learn about how this resourceful pathogen coregulates different resistance mechanisms to overcome the antibacterial challenges it faces.


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