Meropenem inhibits Acinetobacter baumannii biofilm formation by downregulating pgaA gene expression

Introduction: Acinetobacter baumanni i is the cause of nosocomial infect ions, pr imari ly in intensive care uni ts. The pgaA gene plays an essent ial role in biofi lm formation, making i t a promising target for developing new strategies to tackle A. baumannii infections. This study investigate...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Mir Mahdi Najafi1*
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pasteur Institute of Iran 2023-06-01
Series:Journal of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
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Online Access:https://jommid.pasteur.ac.ir/article-1-400-en.html
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Summary:Introduction: Acinetobacter baumanni i is the cause of nosocomial infect ions, pr imari ly in intensive care uni ts. The pgaA gene plays an essent ial role in biofi lm formation, making i t a promising target for developing new strategies to tackle A. baumannii infections. This study investigated the meropenem effect on pgaA gene expression and biofilm format ion in A. baumannii . Methods: Over five months, 50 ur ine samples were taken from patients receiving medical care in the intensive care uni t, of which 20 A. baumannii isolates were detected. Antibiotic susceptibil ity was determined wi th meropenem, imipenem, tr imethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, tetracycl ine, amikacin, as wel l as gentamicin disks by the Kirby-Bauer method. The minimum inhibi tory concentrat ion (MIC) of meropenem was determined using the microdi lution method. Biofi lm format ion was investigated through the tissue culture plate (TCP) technique and imaged using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Reverse Transcr iptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) determined the expression level of the pgaA gene. Results: Ant ibiot ic susceptibil ity testing revealed that all A. baumannii isolates were resistant to meropenem, imipenem, ciprofloxacin, and amikacin, and 71.42% were resistant to tetracycl ine. The MIC for meropenem could not be determined for isolates. Meropenem prevented biofilm format ion in more than 70% of the isolates, and AFM imaging revealed thin biofilms. The RT - PCR showed that exposure to meropenem significant ly decreased the pgaA expression gene in over 95% of the isolates (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Meropenem inhibited biofilm formation in most A. baumannii isolates by downregulat ing the pgaA expression, suggesting a potent ial role in preventing A. baumannii infections by reducing biofi lm formation.
ISSN:2345-5349
2345-5330