Modified peptidoglycan transpeptidase activity in a carbenicillin-resistant mutant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 18s. (1/650)

A carbenicillin-resistant mutant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 18s was found to possess peptidoglycan transpeptidase activity significantly more resistant to inhibition by benzyl penicillin, ampicillin, carbenicillin, and cephaloridine than that of the parent strain. The mutant was more resistant than the parent strain to all of the beta-lactam antibiotics tested, and 50% inhibition values for these compounds against membrane-bound model transpeptidase activity paralleled this increase. The resistance of the mutant to kanamycin, streptomycin, and chloramphenicol was unchanged.  (+info)

Integron- and carbenicillinase-mediated reduced susceptibility to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid in isolates of multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serotype typhimurium DT104 from French patients. (2/650)

Fifty-seven Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (S. typhimurium) isolates were collected from human patients in two French hospitals, Hopital Antoine Beclere (Clamart, France) and Hopital Bicetre (Le Kremlin-Bicetre, France), between 1996 and 1997. Thirty of them (52 percent) were resistant to amino-, carbeni-, and ureidopenicillins, had reduced susceptibility to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, were susceptible to cephalothin, and were resistant to sulfonamides, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, and tetracyclines. All these strains possessed a blaPSE-1-like gene and were of phage type DT104. Ten of them were studied in more detail, which revealed that blaPSE-1 is located on the variable region of a class 1 integron. This integron was found to be chromosomally located, as was another class 1 integron containing aadA2, a streptomycin-spectinomycin resistance gene. The reduced susceptibility to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (and to ticarcillin-clavulanic acid) may result from the high level of hydrolysis of the beta-lactam rather than to the clavulanic acid resistance properties of PSE-1 in these clonally related S. typhimurium isolates.  (+info)

Clavulanic acid inhibition of beta-lactamase I from Bacillus cereus 569/H. (3/650)

Inactivation of beta-lactamase I by clavulanic acid was investigated. Clavulanic acid induced inhibition of the enzyme was found to be progressive with time. Benzylpenicillin provided protection against the adverse effects of the inhibitor initially, however, the enzyme was irreversibly inhibited in a progressive manner even in the presence of substrate. Reaction of beta-lactamase I with clavulanic acid, in the presence of ampicillin, led to a very rapid inactivation of the enzyme.  (+info)

Variation in the properties of a strain of Staphylococcus aureus isolated over three months from a single hospital. (4/650)

A strain of Staphylococcus aureus has been isolated from a hospital environment over 3 months. Every isolate was lysed by phage 77, had high-level resistance to streptomycin, and was resistant to about 250 pg per ml of both tetracycline and sulphonamide; a combination of sulphamethoxazole and trimethoprim produced little bacteristatic synergy towards each isolate. All These organisms were thus considered to be "the same"; the variation in other properties was probably due to rapid evolutionary change in vivo. the variation in senxitivity to methicillin and neomycin, and the absence of penicillinase production in some isolates, probably indicated loss of the relevant genes. Several isolates had probably acquired resistance to lincomycin by a one-step mutatuon in vivo. The usefulness of lincomycin and analogues in treating staphylococcal infections seems limited.  (+info)

Further evolution of a strain of Staphylococcus aureus in vivo: evidence for significant inactivation of flucloxacillin by penicillinase. (5/650)

A strain of Staphylococcus aureus (no. FAR4) has been isolated at intervals, for 32 months, from the sputum of a patient with cystic fibrosis of the lung. Changes in the properties of isolates of this strain over the first 18 months have been reported previously (Lacey et al., 1973 and 1974). During the last 14 months (May 1973 to July 1974), further evolution has occurred to produce a total of 31 distinct phenotypes. Recent changes are as follows. 1. The ability of isolates to produce penicillinase in vitro was closely correlated with flucloxacillin therapy. Inactivation of flucloxacillin by penicillinase was demonstrated by diffusion testing (but not MIC determination) in vitro and may have occurred to a significant extent in vivo. 2. Lincomycin-resistant mutants slowly disappeared from the sputum after the termination of clindamycin therapy. 3. All of the recent isolates were resistant to erythromycin, possibly because of the linkage of the genes coding for erythromycin resistance with those coding for the production of delta-haemolysin; delta-haemolysin may be an important "virulence factor".  (+info)

PC-904, a novel broad-spectrum semisynthetic penicillin with marked antipseudomonal activity: microbiological evaluation. (6/650)

PC-904, sodium 6-{d(-)-alpha-(4-hydroxy-1,5-naphthyridine-3-carboxamido) phenylacetamido}-penicillanate, is a novel semisynthetic penicillin derivative that possesses a broad spectrum of in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities. In low concentrations, PC-904 inhibits growth against large proportions of the gram-positive and gram-negative organisms susceptible to carbenicillin and gentamicin. In addition, PC-904 is several times more potent than carbenicillin against organisms such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Shigella, Salmonella, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Bacteroides fragilis. Most striking are the inhibitory effects of PC-904 against P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae. Against these two clinical isolates, PC-904 is, respectively, 35 and 100 times more active than carbenicillin. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of PC-904 against P. aeruginosa are comparable to those of gentamicin. PC-904 acts bactericidally. The effect of inoculum size on the antibacterial activity is often small and generally comparable to carbenicillin. The rate of binding to serum protein is high (88 to 98%), but the effect of the addition of serum on the drug's activity is not marked, because such binding is reversible. It is confirmed that PC-904 has a very potent in vivo antibacterial activity against gram-negative and gram-positive organisms. Against systemic infections with P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, and E. coli in mice, PC-904 is 7 to 10 times, over 8 times, and 2 to 15 times more active than carbenicillin, respectively.  (+info)

Genetic and molecular characterisation of resistance determinants in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus-aureus. (7/650)

A genetic analysis of resistance to antibiotics in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was performed. Demonstration of plasmid-specific DNA either in transductants that had received antibiotic-resistance markers from multiply-resistant strains, or in segregants of methicillin-resistant strains that had lost unstable determinants except the one under study, indicated that markers of resistance to penicillin, chloramphenicol and neomycin are present on separate, mutually compatible plasmids. Absence of covalently closed circular DNA was demonstrated in transductants that were resistant to methicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin and streptomycin, as well as in segregants that had lost the penicillinase, chloramphenicol and neomycin plasmid, but were still resistant to methicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, streptomycin and the sulphonamides. Analysis of plasmid DNA either in a 5-20% neutral sucrose gradient or by electron microscopy revealed the presence of three readily distinguishable plasmids. The molecular weights of these plasmids were estimated by comparing the sedimentation rate constants with those of known reference plasmids and by contour-length measurements. The molecular weight of the penicillinase plasmid was estimated to be 20 X 10(6) daltons, that of the chloramphenicol plasmid 3 X 10(6) daltons and that of the plasmid carrying the neomycin resistance marker 37 X 10(6) daltons.  (+info)

Inducible oxacillin-hydrolyzing penicillinase in Aeromonas hydrophila isolated from fish. (8/650)

An inducible penicillinase was shown to be present in a strain of Aeromonas hydrophila subsp. hydrophila isolated from freshwater fish. Enzyme induction was observed with benzylpenicillin or 6-aminopenicillanic acid, and the enzyme was cell bound. The penicillinase was purified 50-fold from a crude cell extract. The molecular weight was estimated to be 23,000 by gel filtration. The pH and temperature optima for the enzyme activity were 8.0 and 35 degrees C, respectively. The penicillinase showed a unique substrate profile by hydrolyzing oxacillin about twice as rapidly as benzylpenicillin. The enzyme activity was weakly inhibited by sodium chloride but was not affected by p-chloromercuribenzoate. The property of penicillinase production by the A. hydrophila strain could not be transferred to Escherichia coli and also could not be eliminated from the bacteria by ethidium bromide treatment.  (+info)