Distribution of genes encoding MSCRAMMs and Pili in clinical and natural populations of Enterococcus faecium - PubMed (original) (raw)

Distribution of genes encoding MSCRAMMs and Pili in clinical and natural populations of Enterococcus faecium

Jouko Sillanpää et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2009 Apr.

Abstract

Enterococcus faecium has recently emerged as an important cause of nosocomial infections. We previously identified 15 predicted surface proteins with characteristics of MSCRAMMs and/or pili and demonstrated that their genes were frequently present in 30 clinical E. faecium isolates studied; one of these, acm, has been studied in further detail. To determine the prevalence of the other 14 genes among various E. faecium populations, we have now assessed 433 E. faecium isolates, including 264 isolates from human clinical infections, 69 isolates from stools of hospitalized patients, 70 isolates from stools of community volunteers, and 30 isolates from animal-related sources. A variable distribution of the 14 genes was detected, with their presence ranging from 51% to 98% of isolates. While 81% of clinical isolates carried 13 or 14 of the 14 genes tested, none of the community group isolates and only 13% of animal isolates carried 13 or 14 genes. The presence of these genes was most frequent in endocarditis isolates, with 11 genes present in all isolates, followed by isolates from other clinical sources. The number of genes significantly associated with clinical versus fecal or animal origin (P = 0.04 to <0.0001) varied from 10 to 13, depending on whether comparisons were made against individual clinical subgroups (endocarditis, blood, and other clinical isolates) or against all clinical isolates combined as one group. The strong association of these genes with clinical isolates raises the possibility that their preservation/acquisition has favored the adaptation of E. faecium to nosocomial environments and/or patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1.

FIG. 1.

Percentages of isolates in different clinical and nonclinical groups that were positive for one or more of the 14 fms genes.

References

    1. Boyce, J. M., S. M. Opal, J. W. Chow, M. J. Zervos, G. Potter-Bynoe, C. B. Sherman, R. L. Romulo, S. Fortna, and A. A. Medeiros. 1994. Outbreak of multidrug-resistant Enterococcus faecium with transferable vanB class vancomycin resistance. J. Clin. Microbiol. 321148-1153. -PMC -PubMed
    1. Bush, L. M., J. Calmon, C. L. Cherney, M. Wendeler, P. Pitsakis, J. Poupard, M. E. Levison, and C. C. Johnson. 1989. High-level penicillin resistance among isolates of enterococci. Implications for treatment of enterococcal infections. Ann. Intern. Med. 110515-520. -PubMed
    1. Camargo, I. L., M. S. Gilmore, and A. L. Darini. 2006. Multilocus sequence typing and analysis of putative virulence factors in vancomycin-resistant and vancomycin-sensitive Enterococcus faecium isolates from Brazil. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. 121123-1130. -PubMed
    1. Cereda, R. F., A. C. Gales, S. Silbert, R. N. Jones, and H. S. Sader. 2002. Molecular typing and antimicrobial susceptibility of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Brazil. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2319-22. -PubMed
    1. Coque, T. M., J. E. Patterson, J. M. Steckelberg, and B. E. Murray. 1995. Incidence of hemolysin, gelatinase, and aggregation substance among enterococci isolated from patients with endocarditis and other infections and from feces of hospitalized and community-based persons. J. Infect. Dis. 1711223-1229. -PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources