scholarly journals Expression of Efflux Pump Gene pmrA in Fluoroquinolone-Resistant and -Susceptible Clinical Isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 808-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura J. V. Piddock ◽  
Maggie M. Johnson ◽  
S. Simjee ◽  
L. Pumbwe
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Reverse Transcriptase ◽  
Ethidium Bromide ◽  
Marked Effect ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Northern Blotting ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Efflux Pump Inhibitor ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Genes Expression

ABSTRACT Thirty-four ciprofloxacin-resistant (MIC ≥ 2 μg/ml) and 12 ciprofloxacin-susceptible clinical isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae were divided into four groups based upon susceptibility to norfloxacin and the effect of reserpine (20 μg/ml). The quinolone-resistance-determining regions of parC, parE, gyrA, and gyrB of all ciprofloxacin-resistant clinical isolates were sequenced, and the activities of eight other fluoroquinolones, acriflavine, ethidium bromide, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline in the presence and absence of reserpine were determined. Despite a marked effect of reserpine upon the activity of norfloxacin, there were only a few isolates for which the activity of another fluoroquinolone was enhanced by reserpine. For most isolates the MICs of acriflavine and ethidium bromide were lowered in the presence of reserpine despite the lack of effect of this efflux pump inhibitor on fluoroquinolone activity. The strains that were most resistant to the fluoroquinolones were predominantly those with mutations in three genes. Expression of the gene encoding the efflux pump PmrA was examined by Northern blotting (quantified by quantitative competitive reverse transcriptase PCR) and compared with that of S. pneumoniae R6 and R6N. Within each group there were isolates that had high-, medium-, and low-level expression of this gene; however, increased expression was not exclusively associated with those isolates with a phenotype suggestive of an efflux mutant. These data suggest that there is another reserpine-sensitive efflux pump in S. pneumoniae that extrudes ethidium bromide and acriflavine but not fluoroquinolones.

The mycobacterial efflux pump EfpA can induce high drug tolerance to many anti-tuberculosis drugs, including moxifloxacin, in Mycobacterium smegmatis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepika Rai ◽  
Sarika Mehra
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Smegmatis ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Drug Tolerance ◽  
Inducible Promoter ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Expression Level ◽  
Efflux Pump Inhibitor ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Active Efflux ◽  
Major Facilitator

Active efflux of drugs across the membrane is a major survival strategy of bacteria against many drugs. In this work, we characterize an efflux pump EfpA, from the major facilitator superfamily, that is highly conserved among both slow growing and fast-growing mycobacterium species and has been found to be upregulated in many clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis . The gene encoding EfpA from Mycobacterium smegmatis was over-expressed under both constitutive and an inducible promoter. Expression of efpA gene under both the promoters resulted in greater than 32-fold increased drug tolerance of M. smegmatis cells to many first-line (rifampicin, isoniazid and streptomycin) and second-line (amikacin) anti-tuberculosis drugs. Notably, drug tolerance of M. smegmatis cells to moxifloxacin increased by more than 180-fold when efpA was over-expressed. The increase in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) correlated with the decreased uptake of drugs including norfloxacin, moxifloxacin and ethidium bromide and the high MIC could be reversed in the presence of an efflux pump inhibitor. A correlation was observed between the MIC of drugs and the efflux pump expression level, suggesting that the latter could be modulated by varying the expression level of the efflux pump. The expression of high levels of efpA did not impact the fitness of the cells when supplemented with glucose.The efpA gene is conserved across both pathogenic and non-pathogenic mycobacteria. The efpA gene from the Mycobacterium bovis BCG/ M. tuberculosis , which is 80% identical to efpA from M. smegmatis , also led to decreased antimicrobial efficacy to many drugs, although the fold-change was lower. When over-expressed in M. bovis BCG, an 8-fold higher drug tolerance to moxifloxacin was observed . This is the first report of an efflux pump from mycobacterium species that leads to higher drug tolerance to moxifloxacin, a promising new drug for the treatment of tuberculosis.

scholarly journals Rescued chlorhexidine activity by resveratrol against carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii via down-regulation of AdeB efflux pump

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0243082
Author(s):  
Uthaibhorn Singkham-in ◽  
Paul G. Higgins ◽  
Dhammika Leshan Wannigama ◽  
Parichart Hongsing ◽  
Tanittha Chatsuwan
Keyword(s):  
Acinetobacter Baumannii ◽  
Ethidium Bromide ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Intracellular Accumulation ◽  
Efflux Pump Inhibitor ◽  
Carbapenem Resistant ◽  
Efflux Pump Inhibition ◽  
Synergistic Mechanism ◽  
Time Kill

The aim of this study was to determine the activity and synergistic mechanisms of resveratrol in combination with chlorhexidine against carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates. The activity of resveratrol plus antimicrobial agents was determined by checkerboard and time-kill assay against carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii isolated from patients at the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. Overexpression of efflux pumps that mediates chlorhexidine susceptibility was characterized by the ethidium bromide accumulation assay. The effect of resveratrol on the expression of efflux pump genes (adeB, adeJ, adeG abeS, and aceI) and the two-component regulators, adeR and adeS was determined by RT-qPCR. The combination of resveratrol and chlorhexidine resulted in strong synergistic and bactericidal activity against carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii. Up-regulation of adeB and aceI was induced by chlorhexidine. However, the addition of resveratrol increased chlorhexidine susceptibility with increased intracellular accumulation of ethidium bromide in A. baumannii indicating that resveratrol acts as an efflux pump inhibitor. Expression of adeB was significantly reduced in the combination of resveratrol with chlorhexidine indicating that resveratrol inhibits the AdeB efflux pump and restores chlorhexidine effect on A. baumannii. In conclusion, reduced adeB expression in A. baumannii was mediated by resveratrol suggesting that AdeB efflux pump inhibition contributes to the synergistic mechanism of resveratrol with chlorhexidine. Our finding highlights the potential importance of resveratrol in clinical applications.

scholarly journals Effect of azithromycin and phenylalanine-arginine beta-naphthylamide on quorum sensing and virulence factors in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amel Elsheredy ◽  
Ingy El-Soudany ◽  
Eglal Elsherbini ◽  
Dalia Metwally ◽  
Abeer Ghazal
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Resistance Rate ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Efflux Pump Inhibitor ◽  
Bacteria Growth

Background and Objectives: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a problematic opportunistic pathogen causing several types of nosocomial infections with a high resistance rate to antibiotics. Production of many virulence factors in P. aeruginosa is regulated by quorum sensing (QS), a cell-to-cell communication mechanism. In this study, we aimed to assess and compare the inhibitory effect of azithromycin (AZM) and EPI- PAβN (efflux pump inhibitor- Phenylalanine-Arginine Beta-Naphthylamide) on QS system and QS-dependent virulence factors in P. aeruginosa clinical isolates. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 P. aeruginosa isolates were obtained from different types of clinical specimens. Isolates were investigated for detection of QS system molecules by AHL cross-feeding bioassay and QS-dependent virulence factors; this was also confirmed by detection of QS genes (lasR, lasI, rhlR, and rhlI) using PCR assay. The inhibitory effect of sub-MIC AZM and EPI PAβN on these virulence factors was assessed. Results: All the P. aeruginosa, producing QS signals C4 HSL, failed to produce C4 HSL in the presence of sub-MIC AZM, In the presence of EPI PAβN (20 µg/ml) only 14 isolates were affected, there was a significant reduction in QS-dependent virulence factors production (protease, biofilm, rhamnolipid and pyocyanin) in the presence of either 20 µg/ml EPI or subMIC of AZM with the inhibitory effect of AZM was more observed than PAβN. Conclusion: Anti-QS agents like AZM and EPI (PAβN) are useful therapeutic options for P. aeruginosa due to its inhibitory effect on QS-dependent virulence factors production without selective pressure on bacteria growth, so resistance to these agents is less likely to develop.

scholarly journals 1-benzyl-1,4-diazepane reduces the efflux of resistance-nodulation-cell division pumps in Escherichia coli

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 987-999
Author(s):  
Enrico Casalone ◽  
Tiziano Vignolini ◽  
Laura Braconi ◽  
Lucia Gardini ◽  
Marco Capitanio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Ethidium Bromide ◽  
Inhibitory Concentration ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Efflux Pumps ◽  
Efflux Pump Inhibitor ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Microdilution Method ◽  
Photoactivated Localization Microscopy ◽  
Mixed Mechanism

Aim: To investigate the action mechanism of 1-benzyl-1,4-diazepane (1-BD) as efflux pump inhibitor (EPI) in Escherichia coli mutants: Δ acrAB or overexpressing AcrAB and AcrEF efflux pumps. Materials & methods: Effect of 1-BD on: antibiotic potentiation, by microdilution method; membrane functionality, by fluorimetric assays; ethidium bromide accumulation, by fluorometric real-time efflux assay; AcrB expression, by quantitative photoactivated localization microscopy. Results: 1-BD decreases the minimal inhibitory concentration of levofloxacin and other antibiotics and increase ethidium bromide accumulation in E. coli overexpressing efflux pumps but not in the Δ acrAB strain. 1-BD increases membranes permeability, without sensibly affecting inner membrane polarity and decreases acrAB transcription. Conclusion: 1-BD acts as an EPI in E. coli with a mixed mechanism, different from that of major reference EPIs.

scholarly journals Prevalence of a Putative Efflux Mechanism among Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Clinical Isolates ofStreptococcus pneumoniae

1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 2032-2035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel P. Brenwald ◽  
Martin J. Gill ◽  
Richard Wise
Keyword(s):  
Ethidium Bromide ◽  
Efflux Pump ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Fluoroquinolone Resistance ◽  
Dilution Method ◽  
Agar Dilution Method ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Agar Dilution ◽  
Efflux Mechanism ◽  
Clinically Significant

ABSTRACT Twenty-three norfloxacin-selected first-step mutants ofStreptococcus pneumoniae showed low-level fluoroquinolone resistance. Their susceptibility to norfloxacin in the presence or absence of reserpine and known efflux pump substrates was determined by an agar dilution method. Five mutants showed four- to eightfold increases in their susceptibility to norfloxacin in the presence of reserpine and four- to eightfold decreases in their susceptibility to acriflavine and ethidium bromide. This phenotype is suggestive of an efflux mechanism of resistance. A representative of these mutants, 1N27, accumulated significantly less ethidium bromide than the parent strain; reserpine abolished these differences. No changes in the quinolone resistance-determining regions of parC,parE, gyrA, or gyrB were found in this mutant. By our validated agar dilution method, the efflux phenotype was sought in clinical isolates of S. pneumoniae. Of 1,037 clinical isolates examined from the United Kingdom, 273 showed reduced susceptibility to norfloxacin or ciprofloxacin. Of these, 45.4% showed the efflux phenotype. Our findings suggest that an efflux mechanism may be a frequent cause of clinically significant fluoroquinolone resistance in pneumococci.

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