title: Sublethal vancomycin-induced ROS mediating antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of many human infectious diseases. Besides infectious dangers, S. aureus is well-known for the quickly developed drug resistance. Although great efforts have been made, mechanisms underlying the antibiotic effects of S. aureus are still not well clarified. Recently, reports have shown that oxidative stress connects with bactericidal antibiotics [Dwyer et al. (2009) Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 12: , 482-489]. Based on this point, we demonstrate that reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by sublethal vancomycin may be partly responsible for the antibiotic resistance in heterogeneous vancomycin resistant S. aureus (hVRSA). Sublethal vancomycin treatment may induce protective ROS productions in hVRSA, whereas reduction in ROS level in hVRSA strains may increase their vancomycin susceptibility. Moreover, low dose of ROS in VSSA (vancomycin susceptible S. aureus) strains may promote their survival under vancomycin conditions. Our findings reveal that modest ROS generation may be protective for vancomycin resistance in hVRSA. These results recover novel insights into the relationship between oxidative stress and bacterial resistance, which has important applications for further use of antibiotics and development of therapeutics strategies for hVRSA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Diagnosis, the first Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 194, Rd. Xuefu, District Nangang, Harbin, 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Gui-qiu
authors.initials: GQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, the first Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 194, Rd. Xuefu, District Nangang, Harbin, 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Diagnosis, the first Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 194, Rd. Xuefu, District Nangang, Harbin, 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Diagnosis, the first Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 194, Rd. Xuefu, District Nangang, Harbin, 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Shu-lan
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Diagnosis, the first Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 194, Rd. Xuefu, District Nangang, Harbin, 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Lan-ying
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Diagnosis, the first Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 194, Rd. Xuefu, District Nangang, Harbin, 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China.
authors.forename: Da-wen
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: The first Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 194, Rd. Xuefu, District Nangang, Harbin, 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China yongchenn@126.com.
authors.forename: Yong-chen
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D020713:Vancomycin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D014640:Vancomycin
keywords: antibiotic resistance; heterogeneous vancomycin resistant S. aureus (hVRSA); reactive oxygen species; vancomycin