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Koichi Tanimoto

Publications and source records attributed to Koichi Tanimoto.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Potency of carbapenems for the prevention of carbapenem-resistant mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: the high potency of a new carbapenem doripenem.

The potencies of the carbapenems; doripenem (DRPM), meropenem (MEPM) and imipenem (IPM) in preventing the emergence of carbapenem-resistant mutants were examined in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. The carbapenems predominantly selected carbapenem-resistant mutants or carbapenem mutants with reduced susceptibilities that were specifically resistant to carbapenems and had arisen as a result of the reduced level of expression of the outer membrane protein with a molecular weight of about 48,000 (OprD). The potency of carbapenems in preventing the growth of the mutants differed for DRPM, MEPM and IPM. The isolation frequency of the mutant was examined on agar plates containing each of the carbapenems at a concentration of 1/2 or 1/4 MIC of each carbapenem for that mutant. Mutants were not selected on agar containing DRPM at a frequency of greater than 10(-9) per cell per generation, whereas mutants of each strain were selected on agar containing MEPM or IPM at frequencies of 10(-7) to 10(-9) per cell per generation. The drug concentrations and the drug concentration range for the selective increase of carbapenem resistant mutants in the broth culture containing each carbapenem differed for each carbapenem. DRPM exhibited both the lowest drug concentration and the narrowest range of drug concentration for selection of the carbapenem-resistant mutants. The results shown in this report indicated that DRPM exhibited the greatest ability to prevent the emergence of the mutant.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Phenotypic and genetic characterization of vancomycin-resistant enterococci from hospitalized humans and from poultry in Korea.

Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) isolates from humans (23 isolates) and poultry (20 isolates) were characterized by antibiotic susceptibility, vancomycin resistance transferability, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and structural analysis of Tn1546-like elements. VRE isolates from humans and poultry showed different resistance patterns, transferability, and transfer rate. In addition to these phenotypic differences between humans and poultry VRE, PFGE and the structure of Tn1546-like elements were also distinct. Most poultry isolates (16/20) were identical to the prototype vanA transposon, Tn1546, while most human isolates (21/23) had multiple integrations of insertion sequence. The transmission of VRE and vancomycin resistance determinant between humans and poultry could not be demonstrated in this study.

Animals↗

Pheromone-responsive conjugative vancomycin resistance plasmids in Enterococcus faecalis isolates from humans and chicken feces.

The drug resistances and plasmid contents of a total of 85 vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) strains that had been isolated in Korea were examined. Fifty-four of the strains originated from samples of chicken feces, and 31 were isolated from hospital patients in Korea. Enterococcus faecalis KV1 and KV2, which had been isolated from a patient and a sample of chicken feces, respectively, were found to carry the plasmids pSL1 and pSL2, respectively. The plasmids transferred resistances to vancomycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, and erythromycin to E. faecalis strains at a high frequency of about 10(-3) per donor cell during 4 hours of broth mating. E. faecalis strains containing each of the pSL plasmids formed clumps after 2 hours of incubation in broth containing E. faecalis FA2-2 culture filtrate (i.e., the E. faecalis sex pheromone), and the plasmid subsequently transferred to the recipient strain in a 10-min short mating in broth, indicating that the plasmids are responsive to E. faecalis pheromones. The pSL plasmids did not respond to any of synthetic pheromones for the previously characterized plasmids. The pheromone specific for pSL plasmids has been designated cSL1. Southern hybridization analysis showed that specific FspI fragments from each of the pSL plasmids hybridized with the aggregation substance gene (asa1) of the pheromone-responsive plasmid pAD1, indicating that the plasmids had a gene homologous to asa1. The restriction maps of the plasmids were identical, and the size of the plasmids was estimated to be 128.1 kb. The plasmids carried five drug resistance determinants for vanA, ermB, aph(3'), aph(6'), and aac(6')/aph(2'), which encode resistance to vancomycin, erythromycin, kanamycin, streptomycin, and gentamicin/kanamycin, respectively. Nucleotide sequence analyses of the drug resistance determinants and their flanking regions are described in this report. The results described provide evidence for the exchange of genetic information between human and animal (chicken) VRE reservoirs and suggest the potential for horizontal transmission of multiple drug resistance, including vancomycin resistance, between farm animals and humans via a pheromone-responsive conjugative plasmid.

Animals↗

Highly conjugative pMG1-like plasmids carrying Tn1546-like transposons that encode vancomycin resistance in Enterococcus faecium.

A total of 12 VanA-type vancomycin-resistant enterococci, consisting of 10 Enterococcus faecium isolates and two Enterococcus avium isolates, were examined in detail. The vancomycin resistance conjugative plasmids pHTalpha (65.9 kbp), pHTbeta (63.7 kbp), and pHTgamma (66.5 kbp) were isolated from each of three different E. faecium strains. The plasmids transferred highly efficiently between enterococcus strains during broth mating and were homologous with pMG1 (Gm(r); 65.1 kb).

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci in humans and imported chickens in Japan.

The phenotypes and genotypes of 22 VanA-type vancomycin-resistant enterococci that had been isolated in Japan were examined. The VanA resistance determinant was plasmid mediated in each of the 22 strains. Of the 22 strains, 8 were isolated from different patients and 11 and 3 were obtained from different samples of chickens imported from Thailand and France, respectively. Three of the strains that were isolated from patients and the 11 strains isolated from the Thai chickens showed high-level vancomycin resistance (MICs, 512 to 1,024 micro g/ml) and low-level teicoplanin resistance (MICs, 0.5 to 4 micro g/ml). Each of these strains had three amino acid substitutions in the N-terminal region of the deduced VanS sequence. L50 was converted to V, E54 was converted to Q, and Q69 was converted to H compared to the vanS gene sequence of Tn1546.

Animals↗

Analysis of the conjugal transfer system of the pheromone-independent highly transferable Enterococcus plasmid pMG1: identification of a tra gene (traA) up-regulated during conjugation.

pMG1 (65.1 kbp) is a pheromone-independent Enterococcus faecium conjugative plasmid conferring gentamicin resistance. pMG1 is able to transfer to enterococci at a high frequency in broth mating experiments, and it does not respond to the sex pheromones which are involved in the high-frequency transfer system of some conjugative plasmids in Enterococcus faecalis. To analyze regulation of tra gene expression in pMG1, transcripts of pMG1 were examined during conjugation. RNA samples were prepared from mating mixtures 20, 40, 80, and 160 min after initiation of mating and were subsequently analyzed by Northern hybridization by using a variety of pMG1 DNA fragments as probes. One transcript of gene 71ORF2 increased to the maximal level 20 min after the start of mating. The level of this transcript decreased after 40 min of mating to the same level as the level in the control donor culture. The increase was not observed in cultures of the donor cells or recipient cells. These findings suggested that the increase was a conjugation-specific event. The 71ORF2 gene of pMG1 was disrupted by using the suicide vector pMG226 carrying an erythromycin resistance gene that is expressed in enterococci. The transfer frequencies of mutant plasmid pMG229, which had a disrupted 71ORF2 gene in pMG1, and the parent plasmid pMG1 were 1.6 x 10(-7) and 1.1 x 10(-3) per donor cell, respectively, in broth mating experiments, and the transfer frequencies of pMG229 and pMG1 were 2.7 x 10(-3) and 8.5 x 10(-2) per donor cell, respectively, in filter mating experiments. This indicated that the transfer frequency of plasmid pMG229 was reduced during broth mating and was not altered during filter mating. 71ORF2, which is designated traA, is a gene involved in the tra gene system for conjugation, and the product of this gene is associated with the formation or stabilization of mating aggregates during broth mating.

Base Sequence↗