Comparative responses of Pseudomonas stutzeri and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to antibacterial agents

The sensitivity of six strains of Pseudomonas stutzeri (NCIMB 568, 10783, 11358, 11359, JM 302, JM 375) to cationic antiseptics, mercury compounds, the parabens, phenolics, EDTA and various antibiotics was compared with Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCIMB 8626. All Ps. stutzeri strains were highly sensitive to chlorhexidine diacetate, organomercurials and triclosan, but rather less so to quarternary ammonium compounds (QACs). They were also sensitive to other biocidal agents and more sensitive to many antibiotics than the strain of Ps. aeruginosa. There was little correlation between uptake of chlorhexidine diacetate or cetylpyridinium chloride by dense suspensions of organisms, leakage of intracellular constituents and loss of cell viability.     

Antibiotic sensitivity of the causative agents of suppurative surgical infection]

Sensitivity of 1492 strains of the causative agents of the surgical purulent infections, i. e. pathogenic Staphylococcus, Proteus, Ps. aeruginosa and E. coli to benzylpenicillin, streptomycin, levomycetin, tetracycline, erythromycin, oleandomycin, monomycin, kanamycin, novobiocin, ampicillin, oxacillin, ceporin, gentamicin and rifampicin was studied. Gentamicin was most active against all the bacterial species tested. The staphylococci were in addition sensitive in a high percentage of the cases to rifampicin, novobiocin, ceporin, monomycin and kanamycin. The isolates of E. coli were in addition sensitive to ceporin, monomycin and kanamycin. Sensitivity of the strains of Ps. aeruginosa and Proteus was low to all of the antibiotics except gentamycin. Most of the strains of the causative agents of the surgical purulent infections were multiresistant to 4 antibiotics. The number of the staphylococcal strains sensitive to benzylpenicillin, streptomycin and levomycetin increased in 1976 as compared to 1975 on the background of a limited use of these antibiotics in clinics.     

哈尔滨市112株绿脓杆菌的血清学分型和耐药性测定

对从临床分离的112株绿脓杆菌进行系统鉴定后,血清学分型表明:6、2和3型分别占32.14％、15.18％、15.18％,为主要流行型,共占总分离株的62.50％。耐药性测定结果为:对10种抗生素5耐以上者占69.6％。其中对多粘菌素、妥布霉素、丁胺卡那霉素三种抗生素最为敏感,敏感率分别为100％、70.6％、86.5％。     

Comparative study of the antibacterial activity of aminoglycoside antibiotics and their combinations with carbenicillin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Antibacterial activity of 7 aminoglycoside antibiotics and combinations of tobramycin or gentamicin with carbenicillin was studied with respect to 33 clinical strains of Ps. aeruginosa. Tobramycin, sisomicin, gentamicin and amicacin showed high levels of antibacterial activity. Tobramycin and sisomicin were 3-4 and 2 times more effective than gentamicin. 100 per cent of the Ps. aeruginosa isolates was sensitive to tobramycin and amicacin. The number of the isolates sensitive to sisomicin and gentamicin amounted to 97 and 94 per cent respectively. The respective numbers for streptomycin and kanamycin were 32 and 11 per cent. No monomycin sensitive isolates were detected. Combination of tobramycin or gentamicin with carbenicillin increased the antibacterial activity of the aminoglycoside antibiotics by 2-16 times and that of carbenicillin by 2-32 times. The synergistic effect of gentamicin or tobramycin with carbenicilin was observed with respect to 50 and 58 per cent of the isolates respectively. No antagonistic effect was detected on the combined use of the antibiotics. The majority of the isolates (96 per cent) were sensitive to combinations of carbenicillin in a concentration of 50 micrograms/ml with tobramycin or gentamicin in concentrations of 0.15 or 0.3 micrograms/ml respectively.     

Quantitative real-time PCR study of the influence of probiotic culture soluble fraction on the expression of Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing genes

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas (Ps.) aeruginosa causes severe infections, particularly in immunocompromised individuals and patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). A serious side effect of antibiotic therapy in Ps. aeruginosa infections is the development of resistance to antibiotics. During the infection process Ps. aeruginosa forms biofilms, rendering bacterial cells more resistant to disinfectants, antibiotics and the action of host immune defense effectors. Pseudomonas aeruginosa employs the intercellular communication system, known as quorum sensing (QS) to coordinate the expression of tissue-damaging factors. Since the QS systems controls the production of different virulence factors, it is possible that the inhibition of its regulatory activity to severely compromise the ability of Ps. aeruginosa to cause infections in humans. Many studies have shown that some probiotic strains exhibit inhibitory activity on different virulence properties of pathogenic bacteria (adherence to cellular or inert substrate, soluble virulence factors expression). The aim of the present study was to investigate by real-time RT-qPCR the influence of probiotic culture soluble factors on the QS genes expression in 30 Ps. aeruginosa strains isolated from patients hospitalized in the National Institute for Cardiovascular Infections, Prof. C.C. Iliescu Fundeni Hospital, Bucharest. The results of the real time RT-qPCR have shown that in all Ps. aeruginosa strains grown in the presence of probiotic culture sterile filtrates, the level of QS genes expression was reduced comparatively with those from control cultures. In conclusion, these results proved that the inhibition of virulence factors regulation mechanisms by soluble molecules secreted by probiotics could represent an interesting way pathogenicity and virulence attenuation in Ps. aeruginosa nosocomial strains.     

Comparative activity of tobramycin and gentamicin against Pseudomonas,Proteus and Providencia species.

Tobramycin is a new antibiotic resembling gentamicin. We measured the minimal inhibitory concentrations of these two antibiotics against five bacterial species that cause hospital-acquired infections and are resistant to many presently available antibiotics. The organisms tested were 500 strains of Pseudomones aeruginosa, 100 strains of each of Proteus rettgeri and Pr. morganii, 50 strains of Pr. vulgaris and 250 strains of Providencia stuartii. Tobramycin was 2 to 4 times more active than gentamicin against Ps. aeruginosa; all except 6 of 70 strains resistant to 4 mug/ml of gentamicin were sensitive to 4 mug/ml of tobramycin. The two antibiotics showed a similar degree of activity against the other four species. Tobramycin promises to be of particular value in the treatment of Pseudomonas infections.     

Antibiotic sensitivity of Proteus, Pseudomonas pyocyanea and staphyloccoci isolated from scleroma and ozena patients]

Antibiotic sensitivity of 292 strains of Proteus, 60 strains of Ps, aeruginosa, 309 strains of S. aureus and 88 strains of S. epidermidis isolated from the upper respiratory tract of patients with scleroma and ozena was studied. The cultures of Pr. mirabilis were sensitive to aminoglucosides (54.9-96.2 per cent) and Pr. morganii were sensitive to levomycetin (81.5 per cent) and neomycin (92.6 per cnet). Sensitivity of Pr. vulgaris and Pr. morganii was reliably higher (p less than 0.001) than that of Pr. mirabilis. The strains of Pr. morganii were less sensitive to monomycin (P less than 0.001) and streptomycin (p less than 0.01) as compared to the cultures of other Proteus species tested. The strains of Ps. aeruginosa were sensitive only to gentamicin (90 per cent) and neomycin (81.1 per cent). Most of the strains of S. aureus (85.4-100 per cent) were sensitive to oleadomycin, erythromycin, olemorphocycline, tetraolean, oxacillin, methicillin ceporin, lincomycin, ristomycin, kanamycin, monomycin and gentamicin. Benzylpenicillin (90.8 per cent of the sensitive strains), ampicillin (67.1 per cent), tetracycline (66.7 per cent), levomycetin (68.6 per cent) and streptomycin (38.1 per cent) were less effective. Antibacterial therapy in cases with scleroma and ozena should be directed not only against causative agents of the diseases but also against the microbes developing due to disbacteriosis. Combination of parenteral and local use of the antibiotics in the treatment of chronic clebsiellesis decreased the isolation rate of Proteus and Ps. aeruginosa in the patients.     

Gentamicin- and silver-resistant pseudomonas in a burns unit.

In 1977-8 gentamicin-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa became very common in a burns unit, over 90% being resistant at the peak of the outbreak. Some strains were also resistant to silver nitrate, though silver resistance was not found in any other strains of Ps aeruginosa isolated. Unlike the gentamicin resistance, the silver resistance was unstable, and strains became sensitive on repeated subculture. All the gentamicin-resistant strains of Ps aeruginosa were of the same serotype (O:11, H:2,5). Though gentamicin resistance could be transferred in vitro from resistant strains of Ps aeruginosa to one sensitive strain of Ps aeruginosa, there was no evidence of in-vivo transfer of gentamicin resistance between strains of pseudomonas in the patients'' burns, nor was there evidence of transfer of gentamicin resistance between Ps aeruginosa and enterobacteria. Carbenicillin-resistant and gentamicin-resistant Ps aeruginosa were sometimes found in the same burns, but no gentamicin-carbenicillin (doubly) resistant strains were found among the 986 strains tested during the outbreak. The outbreak of gentamicin-resistant Ps aeruginosa from burns was not reduced by stopping treatment with gentamicin and its analogues but only by segregating all patients with Ps aeruginosa in one of the two wards of the unit and admitting new patients only to the other ward.     

Antibiotic sensitivity of the microflora isolated in ENT diseases]

Sensitivity of beta-hemolytic streptococci of group A, Streptococcus viridans, Staphylococcus aureus, epidermal staphylococci, pneumococci, Proteus and Ps. aeruginosa isolated in 1975-1978 from patients with tonsillitis, otitis, sinusitis and other otorhinolaryngological diseases was studied with respect to 19 antibiotics. Data on comparison of the antibiotic sensitivity of the microflora isolated from the patients with otorhinolaryngological diseases in 1964-1974 and 1975-1978 are presented. It was shown that beta-hemolytic streptococci were highly sensitive to all the antibiotics tested except tetracycline. Among Streptococcus viridans the strains resistant to many antibiotics were more frequent than among beta-hemolytic streptococci. Most of the Staphylococcus aureus strains were sensitive to gentamycin, cephaloridin, oxacillin and resistant to the other antibiotics. The epidermal staphylococci were characterized by approximately the same antibiotic sensitivity as Staphylococcus aureus. Resistance of the predominating majority of the Pneumococcus strains to tetracycline was noted. Proteus and Ps. aeruginosa were resistant to all the antibiotics except aminoglycosides. The microflora isolated from the cases with otorhinolaryngological diseases in 1975-1978 were mainly characterized by lower antibiotic sensitivity than that isolated from the cases with the same diseases in 1964-1974. It is possible to suppose that the microorganisms isolated from the patients with otorhinolaringological diseases had no significant differences with respect to their antibiotic sensitivity from those isolated from the patients with other pathological processes.     

Conjugation transfer of plasmid resistance to gentamycin and other antibiotics in clinical strains of Ps. aeruginosa]

A possibility of conjugation transfer of the markers of the plasmid resistance to gentamicin and other antibiotics from 10 clinical strains of Ps. aeruginosa, isolated from burn patients to the recipient strain of Ps. aeruginosa PTO 629 Rfr was shown. The marker of gentamicin resistance was transferred to 100 out of 110 of the exconjugants, i.e. 86.2 per cent. The rate of the conjugation transfer in the crosses between the clincal strains of Ps. aeruginosa and the recipient strain PTO 629 Rfr with respect to the gentamicin marker was about 10--7. The plasmid resistance markers in the clincal strains Ps. aeruginosa were transferred in various combinations. Transfer of the markers of resistance to streptomycin, carbenicillin, neomycin and combinations Sm, Nm and Sm, Nm, Cm was not achieved.     

Adaptive resistance to benzalkonium chloride,amikacin and tobramycin: the effect on susceptibility to other antimicrobials

AIMS: To produce strains of antimicrobial-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa via adaptation to benzalkonium chloride, amikacin and tobramycin and to then examine the incidence, or otherwise, of cross-resistance between antibiotics and between antibiotics and benzalkonium chloride. METHODS AND RESULTS: Adaptation was obtained by progressive subculturing in subinhibitory concentrations of the antimicrobials. Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCIMB 10421 adapted to grow in high concentrations of benzalkonium chloride (BC) had lower MIC to antibiotics than the wild type, whereas Ps. aeruginosa adapted to grow in antibiotics had greater MIC to benzalkonium by a small degree. CONCLUSIONS: Adaptive resistance to BC of Ps. aeruginosa generally produced cultures with a decrease in resistance to several antibiotics. Adaptive resistance to the aminoglycosides Ak and Tm produced a low-level increase in tolerance to BC. The adaptive mechanisms of resistance appear to be different for the different types of antimicrobials used. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The relationships between biocide and antibiotic resistance are complex. It appears, from this study, that an organism resistant to a common biocide can become sensitive to antibiotics, but the converse was not true. Could this observation be used in a strategy to alleviate antibiotic resistance?     

Comparative study of the antibacterial activity of a number of new antibiotics and their combinations in relation to Pseudomonas aeruginosa]

Tobramycin and sisomycin proved to have the highest antibacterial activity against 156 clinical strains of Ps. aeruginosa and were 4--8 times more effective than monomycin, kanamycin, neomycin and to a lesser extent gentamicin. The combination of mecillinam and sisomycin had a synergistic effect with respect to 26 out of 50 strains of Ps. aeruginosa and the combination of mecillinam and tobramycin had a synergistic effect on 18 strains. An antagonistic effect was observed with the use of the above combinations in 3 cases. The effect of the combinations depended on sensitivity of Ps. aeruginosa cultures to the aminoglycoside antibiotic included into the compositions.     

Nisin production by Lactococcus lactis using two-phase batch culture

The MAR indexes of hospital isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were determined with reference to nine different cephalosporins. The values for all the strains were higher than 0·2 suggesting their origin from a high risk source of contamination where antibiotics are often used. Emergence of MAR pathogenic strains of Ps. aeruginosa indicated possible nosocomial infection in the hospital environment. β-Lactamases produced by these organisms were tested and their inhibition by clavulanic acid was studied. β-Lactamase produced by one of these strains (Ps-1) could not be inhibited by clavulanic acid whereas β-lactamases of three other strains (Ps-2, Ps-3 and Ps-4) could be inhibited by clavulanic acid in the presence of cephalosporins, suggesting a possible use of clavulanic acid in combination with cephalosporins, to combat β-lactamase induced resistance in Ps. aeruginosa.     

Gentamycin activity in combination with etonium in relation to Pseudomonas aeruginosa]

Gentamicin is one of the most effective drugs for treatment of infections caused by Ps. aeruginosa. However, isolation of the strains resistant to the antibiotics was not infrequent. It was shown in the experiments with 40 cultures that the activity of gentamicin against Ps. aeruginosa increased approximately 20 times when it was used in combination with ethonium, a derivative of bis-quaternary ammonium compounds.     

The Action of Ethylenediaminetetra-acetic Acid on Pseudomonas aeruginosa

It has been shown that ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid (EDTA) has a direct bactericidal action against strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Alcaligenes faecalis . The action against Ps. aeruginosa is considered to take the form of competition for a metal essential to the integrity of the cells: some of the factors influencing this antibacterial action have been discussed. From a study of the release of solutes from cells of Ps. aeruginosa , it was concluded that the action of EDTA takes place at the cell wall of the organism: an effect by EDTA on the isolated walls of sensitive organisms has been demonstrated.     

A note on antibiotic resistance in the bacterial flora of raw sewage and sewage-polluted River Tigris in Mosul, Iraq

Polluted water samples collected from the River Tigris in the vicinity of a raw sewage outfall were examined for the incidence of antibiotic resistance among coliform bacteria on three occasions during 1983. Eighty percent or more of the coliform bacteria were resistant to one or more antibiotics. At the same time, raw sewage samples were examined for the incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas spp. and Staphylococcus spp. were selected for sensitivity testing. Collectively, more than 90% of the 480 strains of the three organisms were resistant to one or more antibiotics. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ampicillin for twenty-nine strains including coliforms, E. coli, Klebsiella sp., Serratia sp., Ps. aeruginosa, Pseudomonas sp., Micrococcus sp., Staph. aureus, Streptococcus faecalis and Bacillus sp. from raw sewage and polluted River Tigris water was determined and that for Ps. aeruginosa was 250 micrograms/ml. The high incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in natural waters could be related to the widespread use of antibiotics in this locality.     

A note on antibiotic resistance in the bacterial flora of raw sewage and sewage-polluted River Tigris in Mosul, Iraq

Polluted water samples collected from the River Tigris in the vicinity of a raw sewage outfall were examined for the incidence of antibiotic resistance among coli-form bacteria on three occasions during 1983. Eighty percent or more of the coli-form bacteria were resistant to one or more antibiotics. At the same time, raw sewage samples were examined for the incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and Escherchia coli, Pseudomonas spp. and Staphylococcus spp. were selected for sensitivity testing. Collectively, more than 90% of the 480 strains of the three organisms were resistant to one or more antibiotics. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ampicillin for twenty-nine strains including coliforms, E. coli, Klebsiella sp., Serratia sp., Ps. aeruginosa, Pseudomonas sp., Micrococcus sp., Staph. aureus, Streptococcus faecalis and Bacillus sp. from raw sewage and polluted River Tigris water was determined and that for Ps. aeruginosa was 250 μg/ml. The high incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in natural waters could be related to the widespread use of antibiotics in this locality.     

Effect of anionic detergents on wild-type and envelope mutants of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Escherichia coli UB1005 (DCO), an envelope mutant (DC2), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 799 and an envelope mutant (799/61) were exposed to sodium deoxycholate (DOC), sarkosyl and sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS). DOC was the least effective lytic agent, but the two Ps. aeruginosa strains, especially 799/61, were more susceptible to DOC and sarkosyl than the E. coli ones. SLS was an efficient lysing agent, although Ps. aeruginosa 799 was the least susceptible of the four strains. DC2 was lysed more rapidly and to a greater extent than UB1005 by all three agents. The mutant strains, especially DC2, were more sensitive to selective media than the wild-type ones.     

The occurrence of denitrification in extremely halophilic bacteria

Abstract A total of 97 aerobic and facultatively anaerobic bacteria, and 3 Candida albicans , were tested for their ability to inhibit the growth of Haemophilus influenzae . Only strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa showed any inhibitory effect and all 5 strains tested clearly inhibited the growth of all 10 strains of H. influenzae . The inhibition of H. influenzae . by Ps. aeruginosa may play a role in the establishment of chronic Ps. aeruginosa infections in the respiratory tracts of patients with bronchiectasis and cystic fibrosis (CF).     

Possible dependence of the results of phage typing Ps. aeruginosa strains on the presence of R plasmids

The plasmid composition of 209 strains of Ps. aeruginosa was determined. The strains were isolated from patients, animals and environment in different geographical areas. The number of the plasmid-containing strains averaged 26.8 per cent. The molecular weights of the plasmids varied from less than 10 to more than 150 MD. 41 conjugative plasmids were transmitted to the recipients of Ps. aeruginosa RAO 303. 66 per cent of them had a restrictive effect on the development of phages used in genetic studies, epidemiological phage typing (Lindberg Collection), and medical practice. This resulted in the changing of the phage type of the host strain. Similar results were obtained in the studies with 10 standard R plasmids representing different incompatibility groups. No relation between the spectrum of the phage restriction, group specificity and the other properties of the plasmids was observed. About 50 per cent of the plasmids markedly lowered the sensitivity level of Ps. aeruginosa RAO 303 to the therapeutic pyocyanic phage. The systems of restriction and modification of DNA coded with plasmids were not detected. A possible changing of the phage type of Ps. aeruginosa strains under the effect of R plasmids should be considered in epidemiological assays and respective treatment measures.