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PubMed1995

In vitro antibacterial activity and beta-lactamase stability of a new carbapenem, BO-2727.

The in vitro activity of BO-2727, a new carbapenem, was compared with those of meropenem, biapenem, imipenem, and ceftazidime. BO-2727 was four- or eightfold more active than the other carbapenems against methicillin-resistant staphylococci and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, including imipenem- and ceftazidime-resistant bacteria. BO-2727 was quite stable to penicillinases, cephalosporinases, and oxyiminocephalosporinases, but not to metallo-beta-lactamase. Time-kill studies against Staphylococcus aureus Smith, Escherichia coli ML4707, and P. aeruginosa GN11189 showed that BO-2727 has potent bactericidal activity at concentrations greater than the MIC.

Bacteria↗

PubMed1995

Outer membrane proteins responsible for multiple drug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Three types of multiple-drug-resistant mutants which were phenotypically similar to previously described nalB, nfxB, and nfxC mutants were isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and two clinical isolates. Type 1 (nalB-type) mutants showed cross-resistance to meropenem, cephems, and quinolones. They overproduced an outer membrane protein with an apparent molecular mass of 50 kDa (OprM). Type 2 (nfxB-type) mutants showed cross-resistance to quinolones and new cephems, i.e., cefpirome and cefozopran, concomitant with overproduction of an outer membrane protein with an apparent molecular mass of 54 kDa (OprJ). Type 3 (nfxC-type) mutants showed cross-resistance to carbapenems and quinolones. They produced decreased amounts of OprD and increased amounts of a 50-kDa protein (OprN), which was almost the same molecular weight as that of OprM, but it was distinguishable from OprM by its heat modifiability on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In the presence of salicylate, the parent strains showed an increased level of resistance to carbapenems and quinolones and produced decreased amounts of OprD and increased amounts of OprN. Salicylate caused the repression of OprJ production and the loss of resistance to cefpirome and cefozopran in two of the three OprJ-overproducing mutants, although salicylate slightly increased the level of resistance in the parent strains. The changes in susceptibilities were transient in the presence of salicylate. These data suggest that at least three different outer membrane proteins, OprM, OprJ, and OprN, are associated with multiple drug resistance in P. aeruginosa.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1997

Widespread detection of PER-1-type extended-spectrum beta-lactamases among nosocomial Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in Turkey: a nationwide multicenter study.

We studied the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of PER-1-type beta-lactamases among Acinetobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated over a 3-month period in eight university hospitals from distinct regions of Turkey. A total of 72, 92, and 367 Acinetobacter, Klebsiella, and P. aeruginosa isolates were studied, respectively. The presence of blaPER was determined by the colony hybridization method and later confirmed by isoelectric focusing. We detected PER-1-type beta-lactamases in 46% (33/72) of Acinetobacter strains and in 11% (40/367) of P. aeruginosa strains but not in Klebsiella strains. PER-1-type enzyme producers were highly resistant to ceftazidime and gentamicin, intermediately resistant to amikacin, and susceptible or moderately susceptible to imipenem and meropenem. Among PER-1-type-beta-lactamase-positive isolates, five Acinetobacter isolates and six P. aeruginosa isolates from different hospitals were selected for ribosomal DNA fingerprinting with EcoRI and SalI. The EcoRI-digested DNAs were later hybridized with a digoxigenin-labelled PER-1 probe. The ribotypes and the lengths of blaPER-carrying fragments were identical in four Acinetobacter strains. A single isolate (Ac3) harbored a PER gene on a different fragment (approximately 4.2 kbp) than the others (approximately 3.4 kbp) and showed a clearly distinguishable ribotype. Ribotypes of P. aeruginosa strains obtained with EcoRI showed three patterns. Similarly, in Pseudomonas strains two different EcoRI fragments harbored blaPER (approximately 4.2 kbp in five isolates and 3.4 kbp in one isolate). PER-1-type beta-lactamases appear to be restricted to Turkey. However, their clonal diversity and high prevalence indicate a high spreading potential.

Acinetobacter↗

PubMed1998

In vitro activity of sanfetrinem and affinity for the penicillin-binding proteins of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Against penicillin-susceptible pneumococci, the activity of sanfetrinem was similar to those of penicillin, amoxicillin, cefotaxime, imipenem, and meropenem, while against penicillin-resistant strains, sanfetrinem and the carbapenems exhibited superior activity (MICs at which 90% of strains are inhibited, < or =1 microg/ml). PBP 1a in the penicillin-susceptible strain and PBP 1a and PBP 2b in the more resistant isolates seemed to be the essential penicillin-binding proteins for imipenem and sanfetrinem.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1998

In vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities of S-4661, a new carbapenem.

The in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities of S-4661, a new 1beta-methylcarbapenem, were compared with those of imipenem, meropenem, biapenem, cefpirome, and ceftazidime. The activity of S-4661 against methicillin-susceptible staphylococci and streptococci was comparable to that of imipenem, with an MIC at which 90% of the strains tested were inhibited (MIC90) equal to 0.5 microg/ml or less. S-4661 was highly active against members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis, with MIC90s ranging from 0.032 to 0.5 microg/ml. Against imipenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, S-4661 was the most active among test agents (MIC90, 8 microg/ml). Furthermore, S-4661 displayed a high degree of activity against many ceftazidime-, ciprofloxacin-, and gentamicin-resistant isolates of P. aeruginosa. The in vivo efficacy of S-4661 against experimentally induced infections in mice caused by gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae and drug-resistant P. aeruginosa, reflected its potent in vitro activity and high levels in plasma in mice. We conclude that S-4661 is a promising new carbapenem for the treatment of infections caused by gram-positive and -negative bacteria, including penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae and drug-resistant P. aeruginosa.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Interactions of beta-lactamases with sanfetrinem (GV 104326) compared to those with imipenem and with oral beta-lactams.

Sanfetrinem is a trinem beta-lactam which can be administered orally as a hexatil ester. We examined whether its beta-lactamase interactions resembled those of the available carbapenems, i.e., stable to AmpC and extended-spectrum beta-lactamases but labile to class B and functional group 2f enzymes. The comparator drugs were imipenem, oral cephalosporins, and amoxicillin. MICs were determined for beta-lactamase expression variants, and hydrolysis was examined directly with representative enzymes. Sanfetrinem was a weak inducer of AmpC beta-lactamases below the MIC and had slight lability, with a kcat of 0.00033 s(-1) for the Enterobacter cloacae enzyme. Its MICs for AmpC-derepressed E. cloacae and Citrobacter freundii were 4 to 8 microg/ml, compared with MICs of 0.12 to 2 microg/ml for AmpC-inducible and -basal strains; MICs for AmpC-derepressed Serratia marcescens and Morganella morganii were not raised. Cefixime and cefpodoxime were more labile than sanfetrinem to the E. cloacae AmpC enzyme, and AmpC-derepressed mutants showed much greater resistance; imipenem was more stable and retained full activity against derepressed mutants. Like imipenem, sanfetrinem was stable to TEM-1 and TEM-10 enzymes and retained full activity against isolates and transconjugants with various extended-spectrum TEM and SHV enzymes, whereas these organisms were resistant to cefixime and cefpodoxime. Sanfetrinem, like imipenem and cefixime but unlike cefpodoxime, also retained activity against Proteus vulgaris and Klebsiella oxytoca strains that hyperproduced potent chromosomal class A beta-lactamases. Functional group 2f enzymes, including Sme-1, NMC-A, and an unnamed enzyme from Acinetobacter spp., increased the sanfetrinem MICs by up to 64-fold. These enzymes also compromised the activities of imipenem and amoxicillin but not those of the cephalosporins. The hydrolysis of sanfetrinem was examined with a purified Sme-1 enzyme, and biphasic kinetics were found. Finally, zinc beta-lactamases, including IMP-1 and the L1 enzyme of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, conferred resistance to sanfetrinem and all other beta-lactams tested, and hydrolysis was confirmed with the IMP-1 enzyme. We conclude that sanfetrinem has beta-lactamase interactions similar to those of the available carbapenems except that it is a weaker inducer of AmpC types, with some tendency to select derepressed mutants, unlike imipenem and meropenem.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1998

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of 59 strains of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus.

The susceptibilities of 59 Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus isolates to eight antibiotics were studied by the agar dilution, E-test, and disk diffusion methods. None of the isolates were beta-lactamase producers. All were susceptible to ampicillin, gentamicin, imipenem, and meropenem as determined by the three methods, with MICs at which 90% of the isolates are inhibited (MIC90s) (determined by agar dilution) of 2, 1, < or = 0.06, and 0.12 microgram/ml, respectively. Twenty-seven percent of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline, with complete agreement between the agar dilution and disk diffusion results. The MIC90s determined by agar dilution were 2 micrograms/ml for erythromycin, 1 microgram/ml for ciprofloxacin, and 8 micrograms/ml for cefotaxime.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1999

Killing activities of trovafloxacin alone and in combination with beta-lactam agents, rifampin, or vancomycin against Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates with various susceptibilities to extended-spectrum cephalosporins at concentrations clinically achievable in cerebrospinal fluid.

The killing activities of trovafloxacin alone and in combination with beta-lactam agents (extended-spectrum cephalosporins, meropenem), rifampin, or vancomycin were evaluated against 20 genotypically characterized Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates for which amoxicillin MICs were >/=4 microg/ml (cefotaxime MICs, >/=4 microg/ml for six strains) at concentrations clinically achievable in cerebrospinal fluid. At 6 h the mean killing activity of trovafloxacin alone (range, 2.6 to 2.9 log(10) CFU/ml) did not vary significantly according to the susceptibility of the strains to beta-lactam agents. The activities of trovafloxacin or vancomycin added to the beta-lactam agents and the combination trovafloxacin-vancomycin were additive or indifferent. Against the ceftriaxone-resistant isolates, the killing activity of the combination of a beta-lactam agent and trovafloxacin did not differ significantly from that of a beta-lactam agent and vancomycin.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1999

Multicenter study of in vitro susceptibility of the Bacteroides fragilis group, 1995 to 1996, with comparison of resistance trends from 1990 to 1996.

Antimicrobial resistance, including plasmid-mediated resistance, among the species of the Bacteroides fragilis group is well documented. An analysis of the in vitro susceptibility of B. fragilis group species referred between 1995 and 1996 as well as during a 7-year (1990 to 1996), prospective, multicenter survey of over 4,000 clinical isolates of B. fragilis group species was undertaken to review trends in the percent resistance to and geometric mean MICs of the antibiotics tested. There was a trend toward a decrease in the geometric mean MICs of most beta-lactam antibiotics, while the percent resistance to most agents was less affected. Within the species B. fragilis, the geometric mean MICs showed significant (P < 0.05) decreases for piperacillin-tazobactam, ticarcillin-clavulanate, piperacillin, ticarcillin, ceftizoxime, cefotetan, and cefmetazole; a significant increase was observed for clindamycin and cefoxitin. For the non-B. fragilis species, a significant decrease in the geometric mean MICs was observed for meropenem, ampicillin-sulbactam, ticarcillin-clavulanate, piperacillin, ticarcillin, ceftizoxime, and cefmetazole; a significant increase was observed for cefoxitin. Significant increases in percent resistance were observed within the B. fragilis strains for ticarcillin and ceftizoxime and within the non-B. fragilis isolates for cefotetan. Significant increases in percent resistance among all B. fragilis group species were observed for clindamycin, while imipenem showed no significant change in resistance trends. The trend analysis for trovafloxacin was limited to 3 years, since the quinolone was tested only in 1994, 1995, and 1996. During the 7 years analyzed, there was no resistance to metronidazole or chloramphenicol observed. The data demonstrate that resistance among the B. fragilis group species has decreased in the past several years, the major exception being clindamycin. The majority of the resistance decrease has been for the beta-lactams in B. fragilis, compared to other species. The reasons for these changes are not readily apparent.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1999

Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a survey of resistance in 136 hospitals in Spain. The Spanish Pseudomonas aeruginosa Study Group.

We carried out a nationwide study with all of the isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa collected in a week in 136 hospitals in Spain. The data on 1,014 isolates included resistance to the following antimicrobials: piperacillin-tazobactam, 7%; meropenem, 8%; amikacin, 9%; tobramycin, 10%; piperacillin, 10%; ticarcillin, 13%; imipenem, 14%; ceftazidime, 15%; cefepime, 17%; ciprofloxacin, 23%; aztreonam, 23%; ofloxacin, 30%; gentamicin, 31%. The most frequent serotypes were O:1 (25.1%), O:4 (21.6%), and O:11 (11.3%).

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1999

In vitro activities of the potent, broad-spectrum carbapenem MK-0826 (L-749,345) against broad-spectrum beta-lactamase-and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli clinical isolates.

An important mechanism of bacterial resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics is inactivation by beta-lactam-hydrolyzing enzymes (beta-lactamases). The evolution of the extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) is associated with extensive use of beta-lactam antibiotics, particularly cephalosporins, and is a serious threat to therapeutic efficacy. ESBLs and broad-spectrum beta-lactamases (BDSBLs) are plasmid-mediated class A enzymes produced by gram-negative pathogens, principally Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. MK-0826 was highly potent against all ESBL- and BDSBL-producing K. pneumoniae and E. coli clinical isolates tested (MIC range, 0.008 to 0.12 microgram/ml). In E. coli, this activity was associated with high-affinity binding to penicillin-binding proteins 2 and 3. When the inoculum level was increased 10-fold, increasing the amount of beta-lactamase present, the MK-0826 MIC range increased to 0.008 to 1 microgram/ml. By comparison, similar observations were made with meropenem while imipenem MICs were usually less affected. Not surprisingly, MIC increases with noncarbapenem beta-lactams were generally substantially greater, resulting in resistance in many cases. E. coli strains that produce chromosomal (Bush group 1) beta-lactamase served as controls. All three carbapenems were subject to an inoculum effect with the majority of the BDSBL- and ESBL-producers but not the Bush group 1 strains, implying some effect of the plasmid-borne enzymes on potency. Importantly, MK-0826 MICs remained at or below 1 microgram/ml under all test conditions.

Carbapenems↗

PubMed1999

Activities of beta-lactams and macrolides against Helicobacter pylori.

A continuous-culture system (chemostat) was used to study the activities of beta-lactam antimicrobial agents, clarithromycin, and 14-OH-clarithromycin against slowly growing Helicobacter pylori NCTC 11637. H. pylori was grown to steady state before exposure to these antimicrobial agents at x8 the MIC. The bactericidal actions of combinations of amoxicillin and clarithromycin were also studied. Viable counts (numbers of CFU per milliliter) were determined at 2-h intervals for 12 h and at 20 h after the addition of antibiotics. The effects of pH changes (6.5 to 7.4) on the activities of amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and the combination of these against H. pylori NCTC 11637 were also studied. Viable counts following exposure to ampicillin, cefixime, ceftazidime, cefuroxime, cefotaxime, azlocillin, and piperacillin at 20 h showed bacteriostatic activity. Imipenem, meropenem, amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and 14-OH-clarithromycin reduced the viable counts by 3 log10 CFU/ml (>/=99.9% killing). Imipenem was the most rapidly bactericidal against H. pylori NCTC 11637. Results of the pH experiments showed that amoxicillin was bactericidal at pHs 6.5 to 7. 4. Clarithromycin was bactericidal at pH 7.0 to 7.4 but was bacteriostatic at pH 6.5. The combination of amoxicillin and clarithromycin was bactericidal at pHs 6.5 and 7.0. A batch culture (flask system) was also used to investigate 12 strains of H. pylori for their susceptibilities to beta-lactams, clarithromycin, and/or 14-OH-clarithromycin in order to determine whether results from the chemostat model can be reproduced with batch cultures. Results of the chemostat time-kill kinetic study were reproducible in our batch culture flask system. The role of carbapenems in the eradication of H. pylori should be investigated.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1999

Roles of beta-lactamases and porins in activities of carbapenems and cephalosporins against Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Two clinical isolates of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae were noted to be less susceptible than expected to imipenem. Both were missing outer membrane proteins that serve as channels for antibiotic entry. The role of beta-lactamase in resistance was investigated by eliminating the original ESBL and introducing plasmids encoding various ESBLs and AmpC beta-lactamase types, by studying the effect of an increased inoculum, and by evaluating interactions with beta-lactamase inhibitors. The contribution of porin deficiency was investigated by restoring a functional ompK36 gene on a plasmid. Plasmids encoding AmpC-type beta-lactamases provided resistance to imipenem (up to 64 microg/ml) and meropenem (up to 16 microg/ml) in strains deficient in porins. Carbapenem resistance showed little inoculum effect, was not affected by clavulanate but was blocked by BRL 42715, and was diminished if OmpK36 porin was restored. Plasmids encoding TEM- and SHV-type ESBLs conferred resistance to cefepime and cefpirome, as well as to earlier oxyimino-beta-lactams. This resistance was magnified with an increased inoculum, was blocked by clavulanate, and was also lowered by OmpK36 porin restoration. In addition, SHV-2 beta-lactamase had a small effect on carbapenem resistance (imipenem MIC, 4 microg/ml, increasing to 16 microg/ml with a higher inoculum) when porins were absent. In K. pneumoniae porin loss can thus augment resistance provided either by TEM- or SHV-type ESBLs or by plasmid-mediated AmpC enzymes to include the latest oxyimino-beta-lactams and carbapenems.

Carbapenems↗

PubMed1999

Activities of new antimicrobial agents (trovafloxacin, moxifloxacin, sanfetrinem, and quinupristin-dalfopristin) against Bacteroides fragilis group: comparison with the activities of 14 other agents.

The antimicrobial activities of trovafloxacin, moxifloxacin, sanfetrinem, quinupristin-dalfopristin, and 14 other antimicrobial agents against 218 Bacteroides fragilis group strains were determined. A group of 10 imipenem-resistant strains were also tested. Imipenem, meropenem, and sanfetrinem had the lowest MICs of all of the beta-lactams. Quinupristin-dalfopristin inhibited all of the strains at 2 microg/ml. Overall, the MICs of trovafloxacin and moxifloxacin for 90% of the strains tested were 1 and 2 microg/ml, respectively.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed2000

Substrate specificities of MexAB-OprM, MexCD-OprJ, and MexXY-oprM efflux pumps in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

To find the exact substrate specificities of three species of tripartite efflux systems of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, MexAB-OprM, MexCD-OprJ, and MexXY-OprM, we constructed a series of isogenic mutants, each of which constitutively overproduced one of the three efflux systems and lacked the other two, and their isogenic mutants, which lacked all these systems. Comparison of the susceptibilities of the constructed mutants to 52 antimicrobial agents belonging to various groups suggested the following substrate specificities. All of the efflux systems extrude a wide variety of antimicrobial agent groups, i.e., quinolones, macrolides, tetracyclines, lincomycin, chloramphenicol, most penicillins (all but carbenicillin and sulbenicillin), most cephems (all but cefsulodin and ceftazidime), meropenem, and S-4661, but none of them extrude polymyxin B or imipenem. Extrusion of aminoglycosides is specific to MexXY-OprM, and extrusion of a group of the beta-lactams, i.e., carbenicillin, sulbenicillin, ceftazidime, moxalactam, and aztreonam, is specific to MexAB-OprM. Moreover, MexAB-OprM and MexCD-OprJ extrude novobiocin, cefsulodin, and flomoxef, while MexXY-OprM does not. These substrate specificities are distinct from those reported previously.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗

PubMed2000

Characterization of VIM-2, a carbapenem-hydrolyzing metallo-beta-lactamase and its plasmid- and integron-borne gene from a Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolate in France.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa COL-1 was identified in a blood culture of a 39-year-old-woman treated with imipenem in Marseilles, France, in 1996. This strain was resistant to beta-lactams, including ureidopenicillins, ticarcillin-clavulanic acid, cefepime, ceftazidime, imipenem, and meropenem, but remained susceptible to the monobactam aztreonam. The carbapenem-hydrolyzing beta-lactamase gene of P. aeruginosa COL-1 was cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli DH10B. The deduced 266-amino-acid protein was an Ambler class B beta-lactamase, with amino acid identities of 32% with B-II from Bacillus cereus; 31% with IMP-1 from several gram-negative rods in Japan, including P. aeruginosa; 27% with CcrA from Bacteroides fragilis; 24% with BlaB from Chryseobacterium meningosepticum; 24% with IND-1 from Chryseobacterium indologenes; 21% with CphA-1 from Aeromonas hydrophila; and 11% with L-1 from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. It was most closely related to VIM-1 beta-lactamase recently reported from Italian P. aeruginosa clinical isolates (90% amino acid identity). Purified VIM-2 beta-lactamase had a pI of 5.6, a relative molecular mass of 29.7 kDa, and a broad substrate hydrolysis range, including penicillins, cephalosporins, cephamycins, oxacephamycins, and carbapenems, but not monobactams. As a metallo-beta-lactamase, its activity was zinc dependent and inhibited by EDTA (50% inhibitory concentration, 50 microM). VIM-2 conferred a resistance pattern to beta-lactams in E. coli DH10B that paralleled its in vitro hydrolytic properties, except for susceptibility to ureidopenicillins, carbapenems, and cefepime. bla(VIM-2) was located on a ca. 45-kb plasmid that in addition conferred resistance to sulfamides and that was not self-transmissible either from P. aeruginosa to E. coli or from E. coli to E. coli. bla(VIM-2) was the only gene cassette located within the variable region of a novel class 1 integron, In56, that was weakly related to the bla(VIM-1)-containing integron. VIM-2 is the second carbapenem-hydrolyzing metalloenzyme characterized from a P. aeruginosa isolate outside Japan.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2000

Characterization of the metallo-beta-lactamase determinant of Acinetobacter baumannii AC-54/97 reveals the existence of bla(IMP) allelic variants carried by gene cassettes of different phylogeny.

The metallo-beta-lactamase determinant of Acinetobacter baumannii AC-54/97, a clinical isolate from Italy that was previously shown to produce an enzyme related to IMP-1, was isolated by means of a PCR methodology which targets amplification of gene cassette arrays inserted into class 1 integrons. Sequencing revealed that this determinant was an allelic variant (named bla(IMP-2)) of bla(IMP) found in Japanese isolates and that it was divergent from the latter by 12% of its nucleotide sequence, which evidently had been acquired independently. Similar to bla(IMP), bla(IMP-2) was also carried by an integron-borne gene cassette. However, the 59-base element of the bla(IMP-2) cassette was unrelated to those of the bla(IMP) cassettes found in Japanese isolates, indicating a different phylogeny for the gene cassettes carrying the two allelic variants. Expression of the integron-borne bla(IMP-2) gene in Escherichia coli resulted in a significant decrease in susceptibility to a broad array of beta-lactams (ampicillin, carbenicillin, cephalothin, cefoxitin, ceftazidime, cefepime, and carbapenems). The IMP-2 enzyme was purified from an Escherichia coli strain carrying the cloned determinant, and kinetic parameters were determined with several beta-lactam substrates. Compared to IMP-1, the kinetic parameters of IMP-2 were similar overall with some beta-lactam substrates (cefoxitin, ceftazidime, cefepime, and imipenem) but remarkably different with others (ampicillin, carbenicillin, cephaloridine, and meropenem), revealing a functional significance of at least some of the mutations that differentiate the two IMP variants. Present findings suggest that the environmental reservoir of bla(IMP) alleles could be widespread and raise a question about the global risk of their transfer to clinically relevant species.

Acinetobacter↗

PubMed2000

Carbapenemases of Chryseobacterium (Flavobacterium) meningosepticum: distribution of blaB and characterization of a novel metallo-beta-lactamase gene, blaB3, in the type strain, NCTC 10016.

Genes encoding carbapenemases in 15 reference strains of Chryseobacterium (Flavobacterium) meningosepticum from the United Kingdom National Collection of Type Cultures and in one recent clinical isolate were investigated. All the strains hydrolyzed imipenem, but their levels of resistance to carbapenems varied, with imipenem and meropenem MICs ranging from 2 to >32 microg/ml. The blaB gene, which encodes a molecular-class B carbapenemase, was detected in only six reference strains and in clinical isolate 97/P/5448. The gene from 97/P/5448 had 98% nucleotide identity with the published sequence of blaB (from strain NCTC 10585) and was designated blaB2. A distinct carbapenemase gene, designated blaB3, was cloned from the type strain of C. meningosepticum, NCTC 10016. blaB3 had an open reading frame of 750 bp with 82% nucleotide identity to blaB and blaB2 and encoded a beta-lactamase of 249 amino acids, including the putative signal peptide. This beta-lactamase showed 87.6 and 86.7% amino acid homology with BlaB and BlaB2, respectively. blaB3 was detected in one other reference strain besides NCTC 10016, but the genetic basis of the carbapenemase activity detected in the other seven reference strains was not defined. Thus, neither blaB nor blaB3 was ubiquitous in the strains of C. meningosepticum studied, indicating that the reference strains may represent more than one bacterial species, each with its own intrinsic metallo-beta-lactamase. Further taxonomic studies of C. meningosepticum are necessary to resolve this topic. Chryseobacterium spp. are environmental organisms and occasional opportunist pathogens. They apparently represent a reservoir of diverse metallo-beta-lactamases, which potentially spread to gram-negative bacteria of greater clinical significance.

Amino Acid Sequence↗