Some relationships between R-factor and chromosomal β-lactamase in Gram-negative bacteria

1. The beta-lactamases specified by Klebsiella aerogenes 418 and the R-factor R-7268 have been partially purified. 2. The molecular weights of the K. aerogenes strains 418 and 373, Aerobacter cloacae 53, R-7268 and R-TEM beta-lactamases were all about 20000; that of the enzymes from Escherichia coli strains 419 and 214T was about 31000. 3. These enzymes were also compared by means of their K(m) values for benzylpenicillin and ampicillin, and their behaviour on starch-gel electrophoresis. 4. The beta-lactamases specified by the two Klebsiella strains, the Aerobacter strain, and the R-factors R-TEM and R-7268 were found to comprise a broadly similar group. However, within this group, only two enzymes seemed to be identical, namely those specified by the two R-factors. The two E. coli strains produce identical beta-lactamases which are very different from the ;Klebsiella/Aerobacter-type' enzymes.     

Isolation and properties of beta-lactamase of the cephalosporinase type from cells of Enterobacter aerogenes 6803

beta-Lastamase with the molecular weight of 32500 was isolated from the cells of clinical strain 6803 of Enterobacter aerogenes and purified. By the substrate profile determined microiodometrically beta-lactamase was classified as belonging to the cephalosporinase type. The activity of the electrophoretically homogenous enzyme was equal to 430 microM a minute per mg protein with respect to benzylpenicillin. The Km for benzylpenicillin, dicloxacillin, cephaloridin and cephalothin was 6.5410(-5), 3 X 10(-4), 2.1 X 10(-5) and 5.7 X 10(-5) M, respectively. The isoelectric point of the enzyme equal to 5.45 was estimated with the method of preparative isoelectrofocusing. The presence of the serine residue or residues was shown with the use of selective reagents applied to the functionally important groups. With the method of circular dichroism the ratio of alpha- and beta-structures in the enzyme molecule was determined, the slow hydrolysis of cephazolin was demonstrated and the values of Km and Kcat for this process were estimated.     

Determination of beta-lactamase types of clinical strains of bacteria using a modified microiodometric method

The substrate profiles and sensitivity to dicloxacillin inhibition were studied in the enzymes of the clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the transconjugants of E. coli carrying the plasmids discovered earlier in P. aeruginosa. The study was performed with a modified microiodometric method for determination of the activity of beta-lactamases. According to the M. Richmond classification of beta-lactamases the enzymes detected in P. aeruginosa strains 4529, 5290 and 9902 may correspond to the 5th class, the enzymes of P. aeruginosa strain 8208 to the 2nd class and the beta-lactamases of the E. coli transconjugants to the 3rd class. Two different beta-lactamases were detected in P. aeruginosa strain 10294.     

Micro-Complement Fixation in Klebsiella Classification

The alkaline phosphatases of 29 strains of bacteria assigned by various authors to the genera Aerobacter, Klebsiella and Enterobacter were compared by the micro-complement fixation technique. On the basis of phosphatase resemblance, we recommend that all strains hitherto assigned to Aerobacter aerogenes and Enterobacter aerogenes be assigned to the genus Klebsiella.     

Coliforms from hides and meat.

Coliform tests were performed on 85 hide and 75 meat samples. IMViC reactions were determined on isolates from positive confirmed and fecal tests, and strains other than Escherichia coli were identified. Strains typed as Aerobacter aerogenes types I and II were identified as Enterobacter cloacae (51.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (21.5%), Enterobacter aerogenes (15%), and Enterobacter liquefaciens, Serratia, and unidentified coliforms (12.1%). K. pneumoniae appeared to be responsible for less than 1% positive fecal tests.     

Coliforms from hides and meat.

Coliform tests were performed on 85 hide and 75 meat samples. IMViC reactions were determined on isolates from positive confirmed and fecal tests, and strains other than Escherichia coli were identified. Strains typed as Aerobacter aerogenes types I and II were identified as Enterobacter cloacae (51.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (21.5%), Enterobacter aerogenes (15%), and Enterobacter liquefaciens, Serratia, and unidentified coliforms (12.1%). K. pneumoniae appeared to be responsible for less than 1% positive fecal tests.     

LXA-1: a new plasmid-mediated β-lactamase giving low-level resistance

Abstract LXA-1, a novel plasmid-mediated β-lactamase, was observed in clinical isolates of Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter freundii and Enterobacter cloacae . All the strains additionally produced TEM-1 β-lactamase. LXA-1 had an M _r of 24 000 and a pI of 6.7. It hydrolysed benzyl-penicillin, ampicillin, carbenicillin and first generation cephalosporins, but not methicillin, oxacillin or cefotaxime. Clavulanate and cloxacillin were inhibitors. Studies of one of the E. cloacae isolates showed that LXA-1 was encoded by a 41-MDa IncFII plasmid distinct from that encoding TEM-1 enzyme in the strain. Transconjugants which acquired LXA-1 production, but not TEM-1, exhibited only low-level resistance to substrate β-lactams.     

Alizarin-beta-D-galactoside: a new substrate for the detection of bacterial beta-galactosidase

We describe the synthesis of a new substrate for the detection of bacterial beta-galactosidase. This substrate, alizarin-beta-D-galactoside, is readily hydrolysed to release alizarin which complexes with various metal ions to form brightly coloured chelates. A total of 367 strains of Gram-negative bacteria were examined for their ability to hydrolyse three chromogenic substrates: alizarin-beta-D-galactoside (Aliz-gal), cyclohexenoesculetin-beta-D-galactoside (CHE-gal) and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactoside (X-gal). A total of 182 strains (49.6%) were found to hydrolyse at least one of the three substrates. All of these 182 strains (100%) hydrolysed Aliz-gal whereas only 170 (93.4%) and 173 (95.1%) hydrolysed CHE-gal and X-gal, respectively. We conclude that alizarin-beta-D-galactoside is a highly sensitive substrate for the demonstration of beta-galactosidase.     

Inhibition of the β-lactamases of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella aerogenes by semi-synthetic penicillins

1. A new automated micro-iodometric method is described for screening compounds for inhibitory action against beta-lactamase enzymes. 2. Over 1000 semi-synthetic penicillins were tested for inhibitory activity against the beta-lactamase of Escherichia coli B11 and 18 showed a fractional inhibition similar to or higher than that of methicillin. 3. The best inhibitors were alkoxy- and halogen-substituted phenyl-, naphthyl- or quinolyl-penicillins. 2-Isopropoxy-1-naphthylpenicillin (BRL 1437) was clearly the best and had a K(i) value about 1% of that of methicillin. 4. The inhibition of the beta-lactamase of E. coli B11 by BRL 1437 was shown to be reversible and competitive. The K(i) was 0.004mum and K(i)/K(m) with ampicillin and p-hydroxyampicillin (BRL 2333) was about 0.0001. The K(m) and V(max.) values were determined for the beta-lactamases of E. coli B11 and Klebsiella aerogenes A against a variety of penicillins. Cell-bound and solubilized enzymes gave similar K(i) and K(m) values. 5. BRL 1437 was superior to cloxacillin and methicillin for inhibition of the beta-lactamase of live, fully grown cultures of several strains of E. coli and K. aerogenes. Of a group of inhibitors BRL 1437 was the most stable to the beta-lactamase of E. coli B11.     

Carbapenemases: molecular diversity and clinical consequences.

Carbapenemases are beta-lactamases that hydrolyze most beta-lactams including carbapenems. Carbapenemases are classified in four molecular classes; those belonging to class A are the chromosomally-encoded and clavulanic acid-inhibited IMI, NMC-A and SME, identified in Enterobacter cloacae and Serratia marcescens; the plasmid-encoded KPC enzymes identified in Enterobacteriaceae (and rarely in Pseudomonas aeruginosa); and the GES-type enzymes identified in Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa. The class B enzymes are the most clinically-significant carbapenemases; they are metallo-beta-lactamases, mostly of the IMP and the VIM series. They have been reported worldwide and their genes are plasmid- and integron-located, hydrolyzing all beta-lactams with the exception of aztreonam. One single plasmid-mediated AmpC beta-lactamase, CMY-10, identified in an Enterobacter aerogenes isolate, has been shown to be a cephaslosporinase with some carbapenemase properties. Finally, the class D carbapenemases are being increasingly reported, mostly in Acinetobacter baumannii, and they compromise the efficacy of imipenem and meropenem significantly.     

Comparison of the Substrate Specificities of the β-Lactamases from Klebsiella aerogenes 1082E and Enterobacter cloacae P99

A potent beta-lactamase (EC 3.5.2.6) produced by a strain of Klebsiella aerogenes (K. pneumoniae), 1082E, isolated from a hospital patient, has been examined. Its properties were different from those of most gram-negative beta-lactamases previously reported. The enzyme has been partly purified, and its activity against a range of substrates has been compared with that of the enzyme from Enterobacter cloacae (Aerobacter cloacae) P99. The K. aerogenes enzyme, although predominantly a penicillinase, had a wide range of specificity. In addition to hydrolyzing the cephalosporins, it attacked the normally beta-lactamaseresistant compounds methicillin and cloxacillin as well as cephalosporin analogues with the same acyl substituents. The results obtained with the E. cloacae enzyme confirmed its cephalosporinase activity and showed that, unlike the enzyme from K. aerogenes, it was relatively inactive against the penicillins.     

牛蒡根际可培养细菌多样性和镉耐性初步分析

从牛蒡根际土壤中分离可培养细菌,进行多样性分析,并对镉耐受性菌株进行筛选及其抗性和种群多样性进行了分析。限制性内切酶多态性分析显示,分离的菌株可分为9个操作分类单元(OUT),分别属于变形菌门、厚壁菌门和放线菌门,分属于6个科,9个属,其中隶属于肠杆菌属、芽胞杆菌属和假单胞菌属的是优势物种。分离到的耐镉菌株分别属于Bacillus subtilis、Enterobacter aerogenes、Enterobacter ludwigi、Klebsiellasp.、Pectobacterium carotovorum、Pseudomonassp.,而Pectobacterium carotovorumNP22、Enterobacter ludwigii NP23、Pseudomonassp.NP39三菌株可在Cd2+浓度为400 mg/L固体培养基上生长。     

Beta-lactamases from Yersinia enterocolitica.

Two beta-lactamases, A and B, have been shown to be present in a strain of Yersinia enterocolitica (w222). Beta-Lactamase A hydrolyses a variety of penicillins and cephalosporins. This enzyme is sensitive to thiol reagents, is only partially inhibited by 0-1 mM-cloxacillin and has a molecular weight of approximatley 20,000.beta-Lactamase B shows strong cephalosporinase activity but does not hydrolyse some of the penicillins. It is more resistant than beta-lactamase A to thiol reagents, is completely inhibited by 0-1 mM-cloxacillin and has a molecular weight of about 34,000. With cephaloridine as a substrate, which is readily hydrolysed by both enzymes, about 85% of the total activity of a cell extract is due to beta-lactamase A and 15% to B. Addition of 6-aminopenicillanic acid to the culture during growth results in a 2-to4-fold selective increase in the amount of beta-lactamase B. Two beta-lactamases similar to enzymes A and B have been found in five other strains of Y. enterocolitica. In contrast, only one beta-lactamase, similar to enzyme B, has been detected in a different strain of Y. enterocolitica (H66), which is abnormal in that it is sensitive to ampicillin. Addition of 6-aminopenicillanic acid to cultures of this strain results in an 8-to 10-fold increase in beta-lactamase production.     

Resistance to imipenem, cefepime, and cefpirome associated with mutation in Omp36 osmoporin of Enterobacter aerogenes

Enterobacter aerogenes develops increased multidrug resistance via a functional alteration of outer-membrane permeability associated with a decrease in porin function. We have sequenced the gene coding the major porin of Enterobacter aerogenes, omp36. The sequence shows a high similarity with the Klebsiella pneumoniae ompK36 gene and is closely related to the enterobacterial OmpC family. Sequence analysis of several Omp36 issued from clinical strains indicated variability in putative cell-surface exposed domains. Interestingly, substitution Gly112Asp was observed in the conserved eyelet L3 region of the porin produced by two strains, C and 3. This substitution is associated with a high general beta-lactam resistance observed in these isolates and with alteration of pore properties previously described in strain 3 porin [Mol. Microbiol. 41 (2001) 189]. This is the first genetic identification of impermeability-mediated resistance to beta-lactams in various clinical E. aerogenes strains.     

Biochemical, immunological and physicochemical comparisons between OHIO-1 and four SHV-type β-lactamases

The biochemical, immunological and physicochemical properties of the beta-lactamase OHIO-1 were compared to those of four beta-lactamases commonly found in Klebsiella pneumoniae: SHV-1, SHV-3 and the beta-lactamases of strains GN 11-03 and GN 422. The substrate profile of SHV-1, OHIO-1 and of the beta-lactamases GN 11-03 and GN 422 were similar, while that of SHV-3 appeared comparable to that of the extended spectrum SHV-2. Moreover, anti-TEM-1 serum inactivated OHIO-1 as well as SHV-1 and the beta-lactamases of strains GN 11-03 and GN 422. Analysis of the electrophoretic mobilities, isoelectric points and titration curves demonstrated that OHIO-1 and the 4 other beta-lactamases examined were closely related variants. From these findings it appears that OHIO-1 could be classified among the SHV-type beta-lactamases.     

Imipenem resistance in Enterobacter aerogenes is associated with derepression of chromosomal cephalosporinases and impaired permeability

Enterobacter aerogenes mutants with high-level resistance to imipenem were studied. They were derived from strains characterized by stable over-production of a class-I beta-lactamase. This enzyme (pI = 8.2) exhibited high affinity toward imipenem and hydrolysed the drug slowly. Imipenem-resistant mutants lacked a major 43-kDa outer membrane protein and displayed decreased permeability to cephaloridine. Introduction of a plasmid coding for the regulatory ampD gene abolished beta-lactamase production and rendered the mutants susceptible to imipenem.     

Concerted action of human carboxyl ester lipase and pancreatic lipase during lipid digestion in vitro: importance of the physicochemical state of the substrate

The pancreatic enzyme carboxyl ester lipase (CEL) has been shown to hydrolyse a large number of different esters, including triacylglycerols, cholesteryl esters and retinyl esters with an absolute requirement for bile salts. Some of the lipids that are substrates for CEL can also be hydrolysed by pancreatic lipase. In order to investigate the relative roles of human CEL and pancreatic lipase, the two enzymes were incubated on a pH-stat with isotope-labelled lipid substrate mixtures in physicochemical forms resembling the state of the dietary lipids in human intestinal contents. In the first set of experiments, cholesteryl oleate (CO) and retinyl palmitate (RP) were solubilised in an emulsion of triolein (TO) stabilised by egg phosphatidylcholine and bile salts. Lipase (always added together with its cofactor, colipase) hydrolysed TO, with monoolein and oleic acid as end-products, whereas CEL alone could not hydrolyse TO in the presence of phosphatidylcholine (PC). Lipase alone did not hydrolyse CO or RP, but CEL did hydrolyse these esters if lipase was present. Release of [3H]glycerol from labelled TO increased only slightly if CEL was added compared to lipase alone, suggesting that monoolein hydrolysis was slow under these conditions. In the second set of experiments, CO and RP were dissolved in bile salt/monoolein/oleic acid dispersions with varying bile salt concentrations. CEL hydrolysed CO and RP more rapidly in a system with a high bile salt concentration containing mixed micelles than in a system with a low bile salt concentration, where the lipids were dispersed in the form of mixed micellar and non-micellar aggregates; both types of aggregate have been reported to exist in human intestinal contents. In conclusion, these data suggest that the main function of CEL under physiological conditions is to hydrolyse cholesteryl and retinyl esters, provided that the triacylglycerol oil phase is hydrolysed by pancreatic lipase, which probably causes a transfer of the substrate lipids of CEL from the oil emulsion phase to an aqueous bile salt/lipolytic product phase. Depending on the bile salt/lipolytic product ratio, the substrate will reside in either micellar or non-micellar lipid aggregates, of which the micellar state is preferred by CEL.     

Hydrolysis of bile acid conjugates by Clostridium bifermentans

Summary Two strains of Clostridium bifermentans have been investigated for their ability to hydrolyse bile acid conjugates under conditions suited to further transformation of the free acids liberated. In batch fermentation at 0.5 g/l substrate concentration, growing cells effected the near-quantitative hydrolysis of glycodeoxycholate, taurodeoxycholate and taurocholate within 48 h; glycocholate was 88% hydrolysed. At substrate concentration greater than 1.0 g/l however, taurine conjugates were less well hydrolysed. Further transformation of the liberated cholic acid to deoxycholic acid and/or 7-ketodeoxycholic acid was achieved, but quantitative conversion was not observed.     

Fermentation of polysaccharides by Klebsielleae and other facultative bacilli.

Fermentations of 10 polysaccharides by species of the family Enterobacteriaceae were examined. Algin, guar, karaya, xanthan, and xylan were not fermented by any of the strains tested. Most of the activity was found in the tribe Klebsielleae. Klebsiella oxytoca fermented amylopectin (97% of the strains studied), carrageenan (100%), inulin (68%), polypectate (100%), and tragacanth (100%). Klebsiella pneumoniae fermented amylopectin (91%), carrageenan (100%), and tragacanth (86%). Carrageenan was also fermented by Enterobacter aerogenes (100%), Enterobacter agglomerans (63%), Enterobacter cloacae (95%), and Pectobacterium (38%). Pectobacterium shared polypectate fermentation (100%) with K. oxytoca. With one exception, Serratia strains were negative on all polysaccharides. These results, along with other evidence, indicate that (i) the genus Klebsiella is biochemically the most versatile genus of the tribe, (ii) because of its distinct characteristics, K. oxytoca warrants species designation separate from K. pneumoniae, and (iii) some food additives generally considered indigestible can be metabolized by a few species of facultative bacilli, whereas others appear to be resistant.