Overlap in antibiotic stress responses leads to cross-resistance between ribosomal acting drugs in Mycobacterium abscessus.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium abscessus is an opportunistic pathogen notorious for its resistance to most classes of antibiotics and low cure rates. In addition to the highly impermeable mycomembrane, M. abscessus carries an array of shared and species-specific defence mechanisms. However, it remains unknown whether M. abscessus’ antibiotic stress response is fine-tuned or an all-or-nothing response. A deeper understanding of underlying resistance and tolerance mechanisms is pivotal in development of targeted therapeutic regimens. We elucidate the transcriptomic response of M. abscessus to antibiotics recommended in treatment guidelines. The M. abscessus ATCC 19977 strain was used. Bacteria were subjected to sub-inhibitory concentrations of drugs for 4- and 24-hours, followed by RNA sequencing. In addition, time-kill kinetic analysis was performed using bacteria after pre-exposure to clarithromycin, amikacin or tigecycline for 24-hours. Lastly, Pan-genome analysis of 35 strains from all three subspecies was performed. Mycobacterium abscessus shows both drug-specific and communal transcriptomic responses to antibiotic exposure. Key features of its tolerance to antibiotics are drug-specific converting enzymes, target protection and shifts in its respiratory chain and metabolic state. The observed transcriptomic responses are likely not strain-specific, as genes involved in tolerance are found in all included strains, with the exception of erm(41) in M. abscessus subspecies massiliense. Due to the communal response elicited by ribosomal-targeting antibiotics, exposure to any of these drugs rapidly induces tolerance mechanisms that decrease susceptibility to ribosome-targeting drugs from multiple classes. Screening high-risk patients (e.g. those with bronchiectasis) for M. abscessus infection prior to starting macrolide or aminoglycoside maintenance therapy is warranted.

ORGANISM(S): Mycobacteroides abscessus

PROVIDER: GSE163621 | GEO | 2022/01/25

REPOSITORIES: GEO