Extended-spectrum beta-lactam resistance due to AmpC hyperproduction and CMY-2 coupled with the loss of OMPK35 in Malaysian strains of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
In this report, we describe the detection of AmpC and CMY-2 beta-lactamases with the loss of OmpK35 porin among seven sporadic strains of ceftazidime-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and ceftazidime-resistant Escherichia coli. Cefoxitin, which was used as a marker of resistance toward 7-alpha-methoxy-cephalosporins, exhibited high minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging between 128 microg/ml and >256 microg/ml in all the strains. The presence of hyperproducing AmpC enzymes was indicated by the positive three-dimensional test. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) study confirmed the presence of AmpC enzymes in all the strains. The ampC gene was detected by PCR in all the strains and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Large plasmids in all the strains, ranging from 60 kb to 150 kb in size, most likely encode the ampC gene. Two E. coli strains out of the seven strains showed positive amplification of the bla(CMY-2) gene, an AmpC variant, and was confirmed by DNA sequence analyses. DNA hybridization confirmed the bla(CMY-2) gene to be plasmid-mediated in both of these strains. However, one of these two strains also mediated a chromosomal CMY gene. All the strains showed an absence of OmpK35 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS/PAGE) and was confirmed by western blot analyses using raised polyclonal anti-OmpK35 antiserum. This suggests that, apart from CMY production, absence of OmpK35 porin also contributed to cefoxitin resistance resulting in extended-spectrum beta-lactam resistance among these isolates.
Palasubramaniam
Selvi
S
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Subramaniam
Geetha
G
Muniandy
Sekaran
S
Parasakthi
Navaratnam
N
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002440:Cefoxitin / Q000494:pharmacology; D018550:Cephalosporin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010957:Plasmids; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018272:Porins / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D018440:beta-Lactam Resistance; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C119261:OmpK35 porin, Klebsiella pneumoniae; D018272:Porins; D002440:Cefoxitin; C103022:beta-lactamase CMY-2; C048795:AmpC beta-lactamases; D001618:beta-Lactamases