HIGH PREVALENCE OF TRANSFERABLE INTEGRON-ASSOCIATED DRUG RESISTANCE IN ESCHERICHIA COLI STRAINS ISOLATED FROM BLOOD CULTURES IN A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN TRABZON, TURKIYE

Year 2024, Volume: 25 Issue: 4, 436 - 450, 22.12.2024

Ahu Reis , Osman Birol Özgümüş , Erva Rakıcı , İnci Durukan , Kurtuluş Buruk , Gülçin Bayramoğlu , Ali Osman Kılıç

https://doi.org/10.69601/meandrosmdj.1559113

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to determine the carriage of transferable integron-associated drug resistance in
Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains isolated from blood cultures.
Materials and Methods: A total of 111 E. coli isolates were included in this study. Antimicrobial
susceptibility testing of the isolates against 17 antibiotics was performed using an automated microbiology
system. Integron-specific polymerase chain reactions (PCR) were used to detect the presence of integrons.
The antibiotic resistance gene cassettes in the variable regions of integrons were analyzed by DNA
sequencing. Plasmid transfer assays were performed using the broth mating method. The clonal
relationships among integron-carrying strains were evaluated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).
Results: Resistance rates to antibiotics ranged from 0.9% to 63%. Thirty-eight strains carried gene cassettes
encoding dfrA7, dfr17-aadA5, dfrV, dfrA1-aadA1, and dfrA12-aadA2. Seven strains possessed class 2
integrons with gene arrays dfrA1-sat2-aadA1 and dfrA1-sat2-aadA30. Twenty-two integron-carrying
isolates harbored conjugative resistance plasmids, three of which were identified as belonging to the IncN
group. Two strains with class 1 integrons, isolated from different clinics, exhibited similar patterns in the
PFGE analysis.
Conclusion: Approximately 50% of E. coli isolates from blood cultures at our hospital were found to carry
integron-associated transferable drug resistance, suggesting their potential role in the horizontal
dissemination of resistance genes. Further research is needed to understand the prevalence of E. coli strains
of blood origin and the role of integrons and gene cassette arrays in the spread of resistance.

Keywords

Escherichia coli, Gene cassette, Integron, Conjugation, Plasmid

Ethical Statement

This study was approves by Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine Scientific Research Ethics Committee (Date: 12.10.2015, Decision no:3, Reference number 2015/117).

Supporting Institution

The present study was supported by the Scientific Research Project Unit of Karadeniz Technical University (Grant number: 5335/2015) as Doctoral thesis

Project Number

Grant number: 5335/2015

Trabzon, Türkiyedeki Bir Üniversite Hastanesinde Kan Kültürlerinden İzole Edilen Escherichia coli Suşlarında Transfer Edilebilir İntegronla İlişkili İlaç Direncinin Yüksek Prevalansı

Abstract

Giriş: Bu çalışmada, Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Hastanesi Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi'nde kan kültürlerinden izole edilen Escherichia coli (E. coli) suşlarının transfer edilebilir integron ilişkili ilaç direncine sahip olup olmadığının belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır.
Materyal ve Metod: İntegronların varlığı, integrona özgü polimeraz zincir reaksiyonları ile belirlendi ve amplikonlar, DNA dizilimi ile analiz edildi. Plazmid transfer deneyleri, sıvıda çiftleşme yöntemiyle gerçekleştirildi. İntegron içeren suşların klonal ilişkisi pulsed field jel elektroforezi (PFGE) ile değerlendirildi.
Bulgular: Kullanılan antibiyotik gruplarına direnç oranları %0,9 ile %63 arasındaydı. Otuz sekiz (%34,2) suş, dfrA7, dfr17-aadA5, dfrV, dfrA1-aadA1 ve dfrA12-aadA2 gen kaset dizilerini taşıyan sınıf 1 integronları içeriyordu. Yedi (%6,3) suş, dfrA1-sat2-aadA1 ve dfrA1-sat2-aadA30 gen kaset dizilerine sahip sınıf 2 integronları içeriyordu. İntegron taşıyan izolatlarda 22 konjugatif direnç plazmidi barındırıldı ve bunlardan üçünün IncN grubunda olduğu belirlendi. Farklı kliniklerden izole edilen sınıf 1 integronları taşıyan dört suş, PFGE analizinde klonal olarak benzer modeller gösterdi.
Sonuç: Hastanemizdeki E. coli izolatlarının yaklaşık %50'sinin integronla ilişkili aktarılabilir ilaç direnci taşıdığı ve yatay yayılımda önemli bir rol oynayabileceği sonucuna vardık. Bu hastanede ve ülke genelinde kan kökenli E. coli suşlarında integronların taşınması arasındaki ilişkinin açıklanabilmesi için daha ileri moleküler epidemiyolojik araştırmalara ihtiyaç vardır.

Keywords

Escherichia coli, Gen kaset, İntegron, Konjugasyon, Plazmid

Project Number

Grant number: 5335/2015

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