KPC-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates have emerged as important pathogens of nosocomial infections, and tigecycline is one of the antibiotics recommended for severe infections caused by KPC-producing K. pneumoniae. To identify the susceptibility profile of KPC-producing K. pneumoniae to tigecycline and investigate the role of efflux pumps in tigecycline resistance, a total of 215 KPC-producing K. pneumoniae isolates were collected. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of tigecycline was determined by standard broth microdilution tests. Isolates showing resistance to tigecycline underwent susceptibility test with efflux pump inhibitors. Expression levels of efflux pump genes (acrB and oqxB) and their regulators (ramA, marA, soxS and rarA) were examined by real-time PCR, and the correlation between tigecycline MICs and gene expression levels were analysed. Our results show that the tigecycline resistance rate in these isolates was 11.2%. Exposure of the tigecycline-resistant isolates to the efflux pump inhibitor NMP resulted in an obvious decrease in MICs and restored susceptibility to tigecycline in 91.7% of the isolates. A statistically significant association between acrB expression and tigecycline MICs was observed, and overexpression of ramA was found in three tigecycline-resistant isolates, further analysis confirmed ramR mutations existed in these isolates. Transformation of one mutant with wild-type ramR restored susceptibility to tigecycline and repressed overexpression of ramA and acrB. These data indicate that efflux pump AcrAB, which can be up-regulated by ramR mutations and subsequent ramA activation, contributed to tigecycline resistance in K. pneumoniae clinical isolates.
Tigecycline is one of the last resort treatments for carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infections. Tigecycline resistance often occurs during the clinical treatment of CRKP, yet its mechanism has still not been clearly elucidated. This study presents an analysis of a tigecycline resistance mechanism that developed in clinical isolates from a 56-year-old female patient infected with CRKP during tigecycline treatment. Consecutive clonal consistent K. pneumoniae isolates were obtained during tigecycline treatment. Whole genome sequencing of the isolates was performed, and putative single nucleotide polymorphisms and insertion and deletion mutations were analyzed in susceptible and resistant isolates. The identified gene of interest was examined through experiments involving transformations and conjugations. Four isolates, two of which were susceptible and two resistant, were collected from the patient. All of the isolates belonged to Sequence Type 11 (ST11) and were classified as extensively drug resistant (XDR). One amino acid substitution S251A in TetA was identified in the tigecycline-resistant isolates. Subsequent transformation experiments confirmed the contribution of the TetA variant (S251A) to tigecycline resistance. The transfer capacity of tigecycline resistance via this mutation was confirmed by conjugation experiments. Using southern blot hybridization and PCR assays, we further proved that the tetA gene was located on a transferable plasmid of ca. 65 kb in an Escherichia coli EC600 transconjugant. Our results provide direct in vivo evidence that evolution in the tetA gene can lead to tigecycline treatment failure in CRKP clinical strains that carry tetA. Moreover, the transfer capacity of tigecycline resistance mediated by mutated tetA is a threat.
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