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Efflux Pump Overexpression Contributes to Tigecycline Heteroresistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
  • Yi Chen, South China Agricultural University
  • Daxing Hu, South China Agricultural University
  • Qijing Zhang, Iowa State University
  • Xiao-Ping Liao, South China Agricultural University
  • Ya-Hong Liu, South China Agricultural University
  • Jian Sun, South China Agricultural University
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
2-17-2017
DOI
10.3389/fcimb.2017.00037
Abstract
Bacterial heteroresistance has been identified in several combinations of bacteria and antibiotics, and it complicated the therapeutic strategies. Tigecycline is being used as one of the optimal options for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Salmonella. This study investigated whether heterorresistance to tigecycline exists in a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain harboring the oqxAB-bearing IncHI2 plasmid pHXY0908. MIC and population analyses were performed to evaluate population-wide susceptibility to tigecycline. The effects of efflux pumps on MIC levels were assessed using the efflux pump inhibitor Phe-Arg-β-naphthylamide, measuring intracellular tigecycline accumulation as well as mRNA levels of regulatory and efflux pump genes. DNA sequencing of regulatory regions were performed and plasmid curing from a resistant strain provided an appropriate control. Results showed that MICs of a parental strain with and without pHXY0908 as well as a plasmid-cured strain 14028/Δp52 were 0.5, 1, and 1 μg/mL, respectively. Population analysis profiling (PAP) illustrated that only the pHXY0908-containg strain was heteroresistant to tigecycline. A fraction of colonies exhibited stable profiles with 4- to 8-fold increases in MIC. The frequencies of emergence of these isolates were higher in the plasmid-containing strain pHXY0908 than either the parental or the 14028/Δp52 strain. Phe-Arg-β-naphthylamide addition restored tigecycline susceptibility of these isolates and intracellular tigecycline accumulation was reduced. Heteroresistant isolates of the strain containing pHXY0908 also had elevated expression of acrB, ramA, and oqxB. DNA sequencing identified numerous mutations in RamR that have been shown to lead to ramA overexpression. In conclusions, heteroresistance to tigecycline in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium was manifested in a plasmid-bearing strain. Our results suggest that this phenotype was associated with overexpression of the AcrAB-TolC and OqxAB efflux pumps.
Comments

This article is published as Chen, Yi, Daxing Hu, Qijing Zhang, Xiao-Ping Liao, Ya-Hong Liu, and Jian Sun. "Efflux Pump Overexpression Contributes to Tigecycline Heteroresistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium." Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 7 (2017): 37. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2017.00037. This Document is Protected by copyright and was first published by Frontiers. All rights reserved. it is reproduced with permission.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Copyright Owner
The Authors
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Yi Chen, Daxing Hu, Qijing Zhang, Xiao-Ping Liao, et al.. "Efflux Pump Overexpression Contributes to Tigecycline Heteroresistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium" Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology Vol. 7 (2017) p. 37
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/qijing-zhang/32/