Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To investigate the distribution characteristics of drug-resistance genes in clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and their correlation with antibacterial drug resistance.
METHODS A total of 95 MRSA strains isolated clinically from Nov. 2023 to Jul. 2024 at Shanghai 8th People's Hospital were collected. The antibacterial drug resistance of these strains was identified through the French bioMerieux automated susceptibility testing system. PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis were employed to determine the distribution of 13 drug-resistance genes (mecA, gyrA, gyrB, ermA, ermB, ermC, aph(3)-IIIa, aac(A)-aph(D), NorA, grlA, blaZ, tetK, tet38) in the 95 MRSA strains. The correlation between these genes and clinically commonly used antibacterial drugs was analyzed with the χ2 test and Pearson correlation coefficient.
RESULTS All strains carried the three genes mecA, gyrA, and gyrB. The predominant drug-resistance gene profile was mecA-gyrB-gyrA-grlA-ermA-tet38-NorA (26.32%). The susceptibility test results showed that all 95 MRSA strains were 100.00% resistant to β-lactam antibacterial drugs. They exhibited high resistance rates to erythromycin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin and clindamycin, all exceeding 60.00%. And they were 100.00% sensitive to glycopeptide antibacterial drugs like vancomycin. The carriage rates of the erythromycin resistance gene ermA, gentamicin resistance genes aph(3)-IIIa and aac(A)-aph(D) and tetracycline resistance gene tetK were significantly higher in antibacterial drug-resistant MRSA strains than in antibacterial drug-sensitive strains, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). However, there were no statistically significant differences in the carriage rates of other drug-resistance genes, including ermB, ermC, tet38, NorA and grlA, between resistant and sensitive strains. There was a moderate positive correlation between the number of drug-resistance genes carried and the number of antibacterial drugs to which resistance was exhibited.
CONCLUSIONS This study reveals the drug-resistance pattern of MRSA characterized by multidrug resistance and its distribution pattern of drug-resistance genes, providing a molecular basis for guiding rational clinical drug use.