Transcriptional Response of Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Isolates to Ciprofloxacin Stress

• Published in: The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology Vol. 2021; pp. 5570963 - 6
• Main Authors: Alvi, Roman Farooq, Aslam, Bilal, Rasool, Muhammad Hidayat, Muzammil, Saima, Siddique, Abu Baker, Yasmeen, Nafeesa, Khurshid, Mohsin, Sarwar, Noreen, Almatroudi, Ahmad, Hussain, Riaz, Baloch, Zulqarnain
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; French
• Published: Egypt Hindawi 2021; Hindawi Limited; Wiley
• Subjects: Antibiotics; Bacteria; Bacterial infections; Cell cycle; Cell division; Ciprofloxacin; Clinical isolates; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA damage; DNA repair; Drug resistance; Estimation; Genes; Infections; Infectious diseases; Klebsiella; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Minimum inhibitory concentration; Multidrug resistance; Multidrug resistant organisms; Mutation; Protein folding; Time dependence; Transcription; France; United States > US; Pakistan
• ISSN: 1712-9532; 1918-1493
• DOI: 10.1155/2021/5570963

Background. The term “persisters” refers to a small bacterial population that persists during treatment with high antibiotic concentration or dose in the absence of genetic resistance. The present study was designed to investigate the transcriptional response in indigenous Klebsiella pneumoniae under the ciprofloxacin stress. Methods. Isolation and identification of K. pneumoniae were carried out through standard microbiological protocols. The characterization of quinolone resistance was performed by estimating the quinolone susceptibility testing, MIC estimation, and detecting the QRDR and PMQR. Transcriptional response of the isolates to ciprofloxacin was determined using qPCR. Results. Among 34 isolates, 23 (67%) were resistant to ciprofloxacin. Both QRDR (gyrA and gyrB) and PMQR (qnrA, qnrB, and qnrS) were detected in the isolates, and all were found resistant to ciprofloxacin. The mRNA levels of both mutS and euTu under the influence of ciprofloxacin were significantly increased. On ciprofloxacin exposure, the mRNA levels of the DNA damage response element (mutS) were raised in a time-dependent fashion. K. pneumoniae showed high-level resistance to ciprofloxacin in the presence of mutations in QRDR and PMQR genes. Conclusion. The transcriptional response revealed the upregulation of DNA repair and protein folding elements (mutS and euTu) in ciprofloxacin stress and delayed cell division. The ciprofloxacin was found to trigger various stress responses in a time- and concentration-dependent manner.