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Staphylococcus aureus Efflux Pumps and Tolerance to Ciprofloxacin and Chlorhexidine following Induction by Mupirocin

Q C Truong-Bolduc1, Y Wang1, J L Reedy1

  • 1Infectious Diseases Division and Medical Services, Massachusetts General Hospitalgrid.32224.35, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
|December 21, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Mupirocin antibiotic treatment increases expression of efflux pumps NorA and MepA. This leads to reduced susceptibility to antibiotics like ciprofloxacin and chlorhexidine.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Antimicrobial Resistance

Background:

  • Efflux pumps are crucial in microbial defense against antibiotics.
  • Understanding the regulation of efflux pumps is vital for combating antimicrobial resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of mupirocin on the expression of specific efflux pumps (NorA and MepA).
  • To determine if mupirocin-induced changes in efflux pump expression affect bacterial susceptibility to other antimicrobial agents.

Main Methods:

  • Gene expression analysis using a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) reporter for NorA.
  • Phenotypic testing of bacterial susceptibility to pump substrates (ciprofloxacin, chlorhexidine) following mupirocin exposure.

Main Results:

  • Mupirocin treatment induced the expression of genes encoding NorA and MepA efflux pumps.
  • Reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin and chlorhexidine was observed after mupirocin exposure.
  • This reduced susceptibility was dependent on the functional integrity of the norA and mepA genes, respectively.

Conclusions:

  • Mupirocin can upregulate efflux pump expression, contributing to reduced susceptibility to other antimicrobial agents.
  • Targeting efflux pumps like NorA and MepA could be a strategy to overcome mupirocin-induced resistance.
Keywords:
MepANorAStaphylococcus aureuschlorhexidineciprofloxacinmupirocin

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