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- Title
Snapshot of Phenotypic and Molecular Virulence and Resistance Profiles in Multidrug-Resistant Strains Isolated in a Tertiary Hospital in Romania.
- Authors
Truşcă, Bianca Simona; Gheorghe-Barbu, Irina; Manea, Marina; Ianculescu, Elvira; Barbu, Ilda Czobor; Măruțescu, Luminița Gabriela; Dițu, Lia-Mara; Chifiriuc, Mariana-Carmen; Lazăr, Veronica
- Abstract
A current major healthcare problem is represented by antibiotic resistance, mainly due to multidrug resistant (MDR) Gram negative bacilli (GNB), because of their extended spread both in hospital facilities and in the community's environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the virulence traits of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa MDR, XDR, and PDR strains isolated from various hospitalized patients. These GNB strains were investigated for the presence of soluble virulence factors (VF), such as hemolysins, lecithinase, amylase, lipase, caseinase, gelatinase, and esculin hydrolysis, as well as for the presence of virulence genes encoding for VF involved in adherence (TC, fimH, and fimA), biofilm formation (algD, ecpRAB, mrkA, mrkD, ompA, and epsA), tissue destruction (plcH and plcN), and in toxin production (cnfI, hlyA, hlyD, and exo complex). All P. aeruginosa strains produced hemolysins; 90% produced lecithinase; and 80% harbored algD, plcH, and plcN genes. The esculin hydrolysis was detected in 96.1% of the K. pneumoniae strains, whereas 86% of them were positive for the mrkA gene. All of the A. baumannii strains produced lecithinase and 80% presented the ompA gene. A significant association was found between the number of VF and the XDR strains, regardless of the isolation sources. This study opens new research perspectives related to bacterial fitness and pathogenicity, and it provides new insights regarding the connection between biofilm formation, other virulence factors, and antibiotic resistance.
- Subjects
ROMANIA; ACINETOBACTER baumannii; GRAM-negative bacteria; PHENOTYPES; DRUG resistance in bacteria; KLEBSIELLA pneumoniae; PSEUDOMONAS aeruginosa; LIPASES
- Publication
Pathogens, 2023, Vol 12, Issue 4, p609
- ISSN
2076-0817
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/pathogens12040609