Doaa Abo-Alella, Wessam Abdelmoniem, Enas Tantawy, Ahmed Asaad
{"title":"Biofilm-producing and carbapenems-resistant Escherichia coli nosocomial uropathogens: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Doaa Abo-Alella, Wessam Abdelmoniem, Enas Tantawy, Ahmed Asaad","doi":"10.1007/s10123-024-00495-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10123-024-00495-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This cross-sectional study aims to determine the incidence and potential risk factors associated with biofilm-producing uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) nosocomial strains from a tertiary care hospital and to examine the prospective correlation between biofilm generation and antibiotic resistance phenotypes and genotypes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 130 UPEC nosocomial isolates were identified, their biofilm formation was quantified using a modified microtiter plate assay, and their antibiotic susceptibilities were assessed utilizing the disc diffusion method. Isolates were then subjected to PCR assays targeting bla<sub>KPC</sub>, bla<sub>VIM</sub>, bla<sub>IMP</sub>, and blaOXA48 genes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Over half of the isolates (n = 76, 58.5%) were biofilm producers. Among 17 carbapenem-resistant isolates, 6 (42.9%) isolates harbored the bla<sub>OXA48</sub> gene, and only 1 (9.1%) isolate was positive for the bla<sub>VIM</sub> gene. Prior antibiotic therapy (aOR 15.782, p 0.000) and diabetes mellitus DM (aOR 11.222, p 0.016) were the significant risk factors associated with biofilm production, as determined by logistic regression analysis of the data. In addition, gentamicin resistance was the only statistically significant antibiotic resistance pattern associated with biofilm production (aOR 9.113, p 0.02).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The findings of this study emphasize the significance of implementing proper infection control measures to avoid the horizontal spread of biofilm formation and associated antimicrobial resistance patterns among UPEC nosocomial strains.</p>","PeriodicalId":14318,"journal":{"name":"International Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"1633-1640"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11611923/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140136734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Le Thi My Thu, Ly Ngoc Thanh Xuan, Nguyen Huynh Minh Anh, Nguyen Duc Trong, Nguyen Thi Xuan Dao, Le Thanh Quang, Le Thi Ngoc Tho, Ha Ngoc Thu, Nguyen Tuan Anh, Nguyen Thi Thuy Diem, Nguyen Quoc Khuong
{"title":"Improving nitrogen content in soil and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) yield by purple nonsulfur bacteria Rhodopseudomonas palustris in two consecutive seasons.","authors":"Le Thi My Thu, Ly Ngoc Thanh Xuan, Nguyen Huynh Minh Anh, Nguyen Duc Trong, Nguyen Thi Xuan Dao, Le Thanh Quang, Le Thi Ngoc Tho, Ha Ngoc Thu, Nguyen Tuan Anh, Nguyen Thi Thuy Diem, Nguyen Quoc Khuong","doi":"10.1007/s10123-024-00515-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10123-024-00515-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study was conducted to assess the effects of nitrogen (N)-fixing purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB) Rhodopseudomonas palustris TLS06, VNW02, VNW64, and VNS89 on soil fertility, N uptake, essential oil (EO) content, growth, and yield of lemon balm. The experiment followed a completely randomized block design with 9 treatments and 3 replications. The treatments consisted of (i) applying 100% N as the recommended fertilizer rate (RFR), (ii) applying 85% N as RFR, (iii) applying 70% N as RFR, (iv) applying 55% N as RFR, (v) the treatment ii combined with N-PNSB, (vi) the treatment iii combined with N-PNSB, (vii) the treatment iv combined with N-PNSB, (viii) 0% as RFR combined with N-PNSB, and (ix) 0% N as RFR. The results showed that applying N-PNSB increased the plant height, and the number of primary branches in both seasons. In addition, the treatment without N fertilizer combined with N-PNSB increased stem leaf biomass by 41.2 and 50.3% in both seasons as compared with the treatment without neither N fertilizer nor N-PNSB. For soil properties, among treatments without N fertilizer, the treatment with N-PNSB increased concentrations of NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>, soluble P, and exchangeable K<sup>+</sup> by 41.3, 41.4, and 26.8%, respectively, as compared with the treatment without N-PNSB at the end of the second season. Applying 85% N as RFR combined with N-PNSB had a greater yield by 5.78-11.8% as compared with the treatment with 100% N as RFR, and a greater EO content by 23% as compared with the treatment with 85% N as RFR.</p>","PeriodicalId":14318,"journal":{"name":"International Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"1821-1830"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140305556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhuoran Qiu, Yuting Kang, Chao Xu, Wanting Ma, Gang Li, Wei Jia, Pengtao Wang
{"title":"Epidemiology and molecular characterization of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from neonatal intensive care units in General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, China, 2017-2021.","authors":"Zhuoran Qiu, Yuting Kang, Chao Xu, Wanting Ma, Gang Li, Wei Jia, Pengtao Wang","doi":"10.1007/s10123-024-00510-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10123-024-00510-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aimed to retrospectively investigate the epidemiology and molecular characteristics of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) isolates from neonatal intensive care units (NICU) between 2017 and 2021.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The antibacterial susceptibility of all strains was assessed using the VITEK 2 compact system. The presence of antibiotic resistance, virulence genes, sequence types (STs), capsular (K) types, and the wzi genes was determined through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Molecular typing was performed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using the restriction enzyme XbaI. Additionally, the virulence potential of peg344-positive strains was evaluated using the string test and mouse intraperitoneal infection models. Whole-genome sequencing was conducted on the DNB system and PacBio platforms.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 46 CRKP isolates were collected during the study period. Out of these, 93.47% (43/46) were identified as CRKP strains belonging to the ST76-K10 type carrying bla<sub>NDM-5</sub>. It was observed that CRKP infection resulted in more severe clinical symptoms compared to CRKP colonization. Among the CRKP strains, a hypervirulent CRKP strain called KP-63, belonging to the ST23 type, was identified. This strain exhibited high mortality in the mouse infection model and was found to possess virulence genes. Genomic alignment analysis revealed a significant similarity between the virulence plasmid from KP-63 strain (pKP-63) and pK2044 from the hypervirulent K. pneumoniae strain NTUH-2044.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There has been a potential dissemination of ST76-K10 type CRKP carrying bla<sub>NDM-5</sub> in the NICU at Ningxia Hospital. Neonatal CRKP infection has been found to cause more severe clinical symptoms than colonization. Furthermore, we have discovered a CR-hvKP strain of ST23 with serotype K1, which exhibits a significant resemblance in its virulent plasmid to pK2044. Therefore, it is crucial to enforce effective measures to restrict the spread and hinder the evolution of CRKP within the hospital.</p>","PeriodicalId":14318,"journal":{"name":"International Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"1725-1736"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11611933/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140184387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Manpreet Kaur, Shivani Sharma, Anu Kalia, Nitika Sandhu
{"title":"Essential oils and their blends: mechanism of antibacterial activity and antibiofilm potential on food-grade maize starch packaging films.","authors":"Manpreet Kaur, Shivani Sharma, Anu Kalia, Nitika Sandhu","doi":"10.1007/s10123-024-00514-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10123-024-00514-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Essential oils are highly complex volatile chemical compounds utilized for food preservation. The present study compares the antibacterial, and antibiofilm activities of essential oils (EOs) and their blends. Three EOs-basil, clove, and lemongrass-and their blends were evaluated against five food-borne bacterial pathogens. A concentration-dependent effect with maximum inhibition at minimum inhibitory concentration values was recorded while no synergistic activity was observed on blending of EOs. The mechanism of antibacterial action was identified as ROS burst, leakage of cytoplasmic content, and DNA degradation through fluorescence microscopy, electrical conductivity, and DNA cleavage studies. The role of EOs on biofilm growth was deciphered with lemongrass EO being most effective as it curbed biofilm formation on the surface of corn-starch packaging films. This work highlights the antibacterial action mechanism of EOs and their potential role in curtailing biofilm growth on food-grade packaging material.</p>","PeriodicalId":14318,"journal":{"name":"International Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"1707-1724"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140174645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Paulette Calleros-González, Arturo Ibarra-Juarez, Araceli Lamelas, Pablo Suárez-Moo
{"title":"How host species and body part determine the microbial communities of five ambrosia beetle species.","authors":"Paulette Calleros-González, Arturo Ibarra-Juarez, Araceli Lamelas, Pablo Suárez-Moo","doi":"10.1007/s10123-024-00502-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10123-024-00502-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ambrosia beetles are farming insects that feed mainly on their cultivated fungi, which in some occasions are pathogens from forest and fruit trees. We used a culture-independent approach based on 16S and 18S rRNA gene metabarcoding analysis to investigate the diversity and composition of the bacterial and fungal communities associated with five ambrosia beetle species: four species native to America (Monarthrum dimidiatum, Dryocoetoides capucinus, Euwallacea discretus, Corthylus consimilis) and an introduced species (Xylosandrus morigerus). For the bacterial community, the beetle species hosted a broad diversity with 1,579 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) and 66 genera, while for the fungal community they hosted 288 ASVs and 39 genera. Some microbial groups dominated the community within a host species or a body part (Wolbachia in the head-thorax of E. discretus; Ambrosiella in the head-thorax and abdomen of X. morigerus). The taxonomic composition and structure of the microbial communities appeared to differ between beetle species; this was supported by beta-diversity analysis, which indicated that bacterial and fungal communities were clustered mainly by host species. This study characterizes for the first time the microbial communities associated with unexplored ambrosia beetle species, as well as the factors that affect the composition and taxonomic diversity per se, contributing to the knowledge of the ambrosia beetle system.</p>","PeriodicalId":14318,"journal":{"name":"International Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"1641-1654"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140136735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gunaraj Dhungana, Roshan Nepal, Ghais Houtak, George Bouras, Sarah Vreugde, Rajani Malla
{"title":"Preclinical characterization and in silico safety assessment of three virulent bacteriophages targeting carbapenem-resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli.","authors":"Gunaraj Dhungana, Roshan Nepal, Ghais Houtak, George Bouras, Sarah Vreugde, Rajani Malla","doi":"10.1007/s10123-024-00508-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10123-024-00508-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Phage therapy has recently been revitalized in the West with many successful applications against multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections. However, the lack of geographically diverse bacteriophage (phage) genomes has constrained our understanding of phage diversity and its genetics underpinning host specificity, lytic capability, and phage-bacteria co-evolution. This study aims to locally isolate virulent phages against uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) and study its phenotypic and genomic features. Three obligately virulent Escherichia phages (øEc_Makalu_001, øEc_Makalu_002, and øEc_Makalu_003) that could infect uropathogenic E. coli were isolated and characterized. All three phages belonged to Krischvirus genus. One-step growth curve showed that the latent period of the phages ranged from 15 to 20 min, the outbreak period ~ 50 min, and the burst size ranged between 74 and 127 PFU/bacterium. Moreover, the phages could tolerate a pH range of 6 to 9 and a temperature range of 25-37 °C for up to 180 min without significant loss of phage viability. All phages showed a broad host spectrum and could lyse up to 30% of the 35 tested E. coli isolates. Genomes of all phages were approximately ~ 163 kb with a gene density of 1.73 gene/kbp and an average gene length of ~ 951 bp. The coding density in all phages was approximately 95%. Putative lysin, holin, endolysin, and spanin genes were found in the genomes of all three phages. All phages were strictly virulent with functional lysis modules and lacked any known virulence or toxin genes and antimicrobial resistance genes. Pre-clinical experimental and genomic analysis suggest these phages may be suitable candidates for therapeutic applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":14318,"journal":{"name":"International Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"1747-1763"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11611945/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140189687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ricardo Rubio-Sánchez, Esperanza Lepe-Balsalobre, Cristina Ubeda, José Antonio Lepe-Jiménez
{"title":"Volatile biomarkers of Gram-positive bacteria of clinical relevance as a tool for infection diagnosis.","authors":"Ricardo Rubio-Sánchez, Esperanza Lepe-Balsalobre, Cristina Ubeda, José Antonio Lepe-Jiménez","doi":"10.1007/s10123-024-00511-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10123-024-00511-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are being studied as potential biomarkers in many infections. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the volatile profile of three Gram-positive bacteria of clinical relevance to identify potential volatile biomarkers that allow their differentiation.</p><p><strong>Methods and results: </strong>L. monocytogenes, S. aureus, and E. faecalis clinical isolates were inoculated in a thioglycollate medium until grown. Then, VOCs were extracted by solid-phase microextraction, and the data obtained were subjected to multivariate analysis. According to our results, there was a high production of aldehydes in E. faecalis. In the case of alcohols, they only increased in L. monocytogenes, while ketones were produced significantly in all three bacteria, mainly due to acetoin. Acids were produced significantly in E. faecalis and L. monocytogenes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Potential biomarkers of L. monocytogenes could be 1-butanol and 2-methylbutanoic acid. In the case of E. faecalis, the VOC most related to its presence was nonanal. Lastly, potential biomarkers of S. aureus could be isoamyl butanoate and methionol, although some pyrazines have also been associated with this bacterium.</p><p><strong>Significance and impact of the study: </strong>The identification of potential biomarkers of these clinically relevant bacteria could open the way for the diagnosis of these infections through the analysis of volatile compounds.</p>","PeriodicalId":14318,"journal":{"name":"International Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"1737-1745"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11611999/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140184424","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Azadeh Eskandari, Thean Chor Leow, Mohd Basyaruddin Abdul Rahman, Siti Nurbaya Oslan
{"title":"Recent insight into the advances and prospects of microbial lipases and their potential applications in industry.","authors":"Azadeh Eskandari, Thean Chor Leow, Mohd Basyaruddin Abdul Rahman, Siti Nurbaya Oslan","doi":"10.1007/s10123-024-00498-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10123-024-00498-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Enzymes play a crucial role in various industrial sectors. These biocatalysts not only ensure sustainability and safety but also enhance process efficiency through their unique specificity. Lipases possess versatility as biocatalysts and find utilization in diverse bioconversion reactions. Presently, microbial lipases are gaining significant focus owing to the rapid progress in enzyme technology and their widespread implementation in multiple industrial procedures. This updated review presents new knowledge about various origins of microbial lipases, such as fungi, bacteria, and yeast. It highlights both the traditional and modern purification methods, including precipitation and chromatographic separation, the immunopurification technique, the reversed micellar system, the aqueous two-phase system (ATPS), and aqueous two-phase flotation (ATPF), moreover, delves into the diverse applications of microbial lipases across several industries, such as food, vitamin esters, textile, detergent, biodiesel, and bioremediation. Furthermore, the present research unveils the obstacles encountered in employing lipase, the patterns observed in lipase engineering, and the application of CRISPR/Cas genome editing technology for altering the genes responsible for lipase production. Additionally, the immobilization of microorganisms' lipases onto various carriers also contributes to enhancing the effectiveness and efficiencies of lipases in terms of their catalytic activities. This is achieved by boosting their resilience to heat and ionic conditions (such as inorganic solvents, high-level pH, and temperature). The process also facilitates the ease of recycling them and enables a more concentrated deposition of the enzyme onto the supporting material. Consequently, these characteristics have demonstrated their suitability for application as biocatalysts in diverse industries.</p>","PeriodicalId":14318,"journal":{"name":"International Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"1597-1631"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140136747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A novel enrofloxacin-degrading fungus, Humicola sp. KC0924g, isolated from the rhizosphere sediment of the submerged macrophyte Vallisneria spiralis L.","authors":"Xueting Chen, Yuping Zhang, Jinghua Liu","doi":"10.1007/s10123-024-00513-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10123-024-00513-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A novel enrofloxacin-degrading fungus was isolated from a rhizosphere sediment of the submerged macrophyte Vallisneria spiralis L.. The isolate, designated KC0924g, was identified as a member of the genus Humicola based on morphological characteristics and tandem conserved sequence analysis. The optimal temperature and pH for enrofloxacin degradation by strain KC0924g were 28 °C and 9.0, respectively. Under such condition, 98.2% of enrofloxacin with an initial concentration of 1 mg L<sup>-1</sup> was degraded after 72 h of incubation, with nine possible degradation products identified. Four different metabolic pathways were proposed, which were initiated by cleavage of the piperazine moiety, hydroxylation of the aromatic ring, oxidative decarboxylation, or defluorination. In addition to enrofloxacin, strain KC0924g also degraded other fluoroquinolone antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and ofloxacin), malachite green (an illegal additive in aquaculture), and leucomalachite green. Pretreatment of cells of strain KC0924g with Cu<sup>2+</sup> accelerated ENR degradation. Furthermore, it was speculated that a flavin-dependent monooxygenase was involved in ENR degradation, based on the increased transcriptional levels of these two genes after Cu<sup>2+</sup> induction. This work enriches strain resources for enrofloxacin remediation and, more importantly, would facilitate studies on the molecular mechanism of ENR degradation with degradation-related transcriptome available.</p>","PeriodicalId":14318,"journal":{"name":"International Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"1693-1705"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140174644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mark M Abdelmassih, Maha M Ismail, Mona T Kashef, Tamer Essam
{"title":"Repurposing fusidic acid as an antimicrobial against enterococci with a low probability of resistance development.","authors":"Mark M Abdelmassih, Maha M Ismail, Mona T Kashef, Tamer Essam","doi":"10.1007/s10123-024-00506-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10123-024-00506-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Drug repurposing constitutes a strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance, by using agents with known safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics. Previous studies have implemented new fusidic acid (FA) front-loading-dose regimens, allowing higher serum levels than those achievable with ordinary doses. As susceptibility breakpoints are affected by serum level, we evaluated the repurposing of FA as an antimicrobial product against enterococci. FA minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against standard enterococci strains; Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and Enterococcus faecium ATCC 27270 were 2 and 4 µg/mL, respectively. The MIC against 98 enterococcal clinical isolates was ≤ 8 µg/mL; all would be susceptible if categorized according to recalculated breakpoints (≥ 16 µg/mL), based on the serum level achieved using the front-loading regimen. FA administration in vivo, using the BALB/c mouse infection model, significantly reduced bacterial burden by two to three log<sub>10</sub> units in the liver and spleen of mice infected with vancomycin-susceptible and -resistant strains. Exposure of the standard enterococcal strains to increasing, but not fixed, FA concentrations resulted in resistant strains (MIC = 128 µg/mL), with thicker cell walls and slower growth rates. Only one mutation (M651I) was detected in the fusA gene of the resistant strain derived from serial passage of E. faecium ATCC 27270, which was retained in the revertant strain after passage in the FA-free medium. In conclusion, FA can be repurposed as an antimicrobial drug against enterococci with a low probability of mutational resistance development, and can be employed for treatment of infections attributable to vancomycin-resistant enterococci.</p>","PeriodicalId":14318,"journal":{"name":"International Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"1807-1819"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11611940/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140293476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}