Dataset Information

1453. PBP2, PBP2a and PBP4 Clone-specific Polymorphisms are not Associated to Ceftaroline (CPT) Susceptibility in Chilean Clinical Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

ABSTRACT: Abstract

Background

CPT is a last-generation cephalosporin active against MRSA due to its affinity for PBP2a. CPT-resistance (CPT-R) is well-described, with mutations in the active transpeptidase domain of PBP2a associated to high-level resistance. The accumulation of changes in the non-penicillin-binding domain of PBP2a has been linked to elevations of the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) to CPT to levels around 2-4ug/mL. PBP4 and PBP2 have also been implicated as potentially relevant mecA-independent mechanisms of CPT-R. We recently reported high rates of CPT-non-susceptibility in clinical MRSA strains from Chile. However, the mutational landscape of PBPs in clinical MRSA isolates from Chile and its relation to CPT susceptibility has not been assessed.

Methods

We analyzed 180 MRSA isolates collected from 2000-2018 in Santiago, Chile. Identification was confirmed by MALDI-TOF and methicillin resistance with cefoxitin disk-diffusion. CPT susceptibility was performed by BMD following CLSI-2019 guidance. Whole-genome sequencing was performed for all isolates; the mutational profile of PBPs was determined using reference sequences for PBP2 (AGY89563.1), PBP2a (NG_047938.1) and PBP4 (X91786.1).

Results

All isolates were phenotypically-confirmed MRSA and harbored mecA. The MIC50/MIC90 by BMD was 2/2?g/dL; only 71 (39%) isolates were CPT-susceptible (MIC <1µg/mL). Most isolates belonged to ST5/SCCmecI (70%,126/180), ST105/SCCmecII (10%,18/180) and ST8/SCCmecIV (5%, 9/180). All ST5/SCCmecI isolates carried the mutations in PBP2 (Y156D), PBP2a (M122I and E150K), and PBP4 (T189S, L234H, and T409A); CPT-susceptibility among ST5/SCCmecI was only 22%. On the other hand, all ST105/SCCmecII isolates had mutations in PBP2 (S707L) and PBP4 (T189S, L234H, and T409A) and exhibited a higher CPT-susceptibility rate (67%). All 9 isolates belonging to the ST8/SCCmecIV lineage harbored a non-coding mutation in PBP2a (g-6t) and the previously observed L234H change in PBP4. Importantly, no association between specific polymorphisms and MIC to CPT was found. Table 1. PBPs mutations compared to CPT MICs by MLST and SCCmec

Conclusion

Changes in the studied PBPs were frequent among MRSA circulating in Chile and were conserved among different genetic backgrounds. However, these changes were not associated with the level of CPT MIC among these isolates.

Disclosures

Cesar A. Arias, MD, MSc, PhD, FIDSA, Entasis Therapeutics (Scientific Research Study Investigator)MeMed (Scientific Research Study Investigator)Merck (Grant/Research Support)

SUBMITTER: Spencer M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7776269 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The development and maintenance of an arsenal of antibiotics is a major health care challenge. Ceftaroline is a new cephalosporin with activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); however, no reports concerning MRSA ceftaroline susceptibility have been reported in Switzerland. We tested the in vitro activity of ceftaroline against an archived set of 60 MRSA strains from the University Hospital of Geneva collected from 1994 to 2003. Our results surprisingly revealed ceftaroline-resistant strains (MIC, >1 ?g/ml in 40/60 strains; EUCAST breakpoints, susceptible [S], ?1 ?g/ml; resistant [R], >1 ?g/ml) were present from 1998 to 2003. The detected resistant strains predominantly belonged to sequence type 228 (ST228) (South German clonotype) but also to ST247 (Iberian clonotype). A sequence analysis of these strains revealed missense mutations in the penicillin-binding protein 2A (PBP2A) allosteric domain (N146K or E239K and N146K-E150K-G246E). The majority of our ST228 PBP2A mutations (N146K or E150K) were distinct from ST228 PBP2A allosteric domain mutations (primarily E239K) recently described for MRSA strains collected in Thailand and Spain during the 2010 Assessing Worldwide Antimicrobial Resistance Evaluation (AWARE) global surveillance program. We also found that similar allosteric domain PBP2A mutations (N146K) correlated with ceftaroline resistance in an independent external ST228 MRSA set obtained from the nearby University Hospital of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, collected from 2003 to 2008. Thus, ceftaroline resistance was observed in our archived strains (including two examples of an MIC of 4 µg/ml for the Iberian ST247 clonotype with the triple mutation N146K/E150K/G246E), at least as far back as 1998, considerably predating the commercial introduction of ceftaroline. Our results reinforce the notion that unknown parameters can potentially exert selective pressure on PBP2A that can subsequently modulate ceftaroline resistance.