Antimicrobial resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a cystic fibrosis population after introduction of a novel cephalosporin/ß-lactamase inhibitor combination.

Ceftolozane-tazobactam is a new ß-lactam/ß-lactamase inhibitor combination approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019 for the treatment of hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated pneumonia. The combination is a particularly potent inhibitor of penicillin-binding proteins with higher affinity than other ß-lactam agents. Persons with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) often harbour resistant Gram-negative bacteria in the airways and need antibiotics to prevent declining lung function. To test whether the introduction of ceftolozane-tazobactam in the period 2015-2020 led to a bacterial population level increase in cephalosporin resistance in a Danish CF population. In vitro, activity of ceftolozane-tazobactam was evaluated by susceptibility testing of clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from pwCF from January 1, 2015, to June 1, 2020. Six thousand three hundred thirty two isolates collected from 210 adult pwCF were included. Thirty pwCF were treated with ceftolozane-tazobactam at least once. Ceftolozane-tazobactam exposure did not increase cephalosporin resistance on an individual or population level. However, resistance to ceftolozane-tazobactam was recorded despite no prior exposure in four pwCF. Compared to ceftazidime, ceftolozane-tazobactam had a better in vitro activity on P. aeruginosa. The percentage of non-mucoid P. aeruginosa isolates susceptible to ceftolozane-tazobactam were higher or equal to 5 other ß-lactams. Ceftolozane-tazobactam expands the armamentaria against P. aeruginosa with acceptable levels for a selection of drug resistance.

Role of Enzymatic Activity in the Biological Cost Associated with the Production of AmpC ß-Lactamases in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

In the current scenario of growing antibiotic resistance, understanding the interplay between resistance mechanisms and biological costs is crucial for designing therapeutic strategies. In this regard, intrinsic AmpC ß-lactamase hyperproduction is probably the most important resistance mechanism of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, proven to entail important biological burdens that attenuate virulence mostly under peptidoglycan recycling alterations. P. aeruginosa can acquire resistance to new ß-lactam-ß-lactamase inhibitor combinations (ceftazidime-avibactam and ceftolozane-tazobactam) through mutations affecting ampC and its regulatory genes, but the impact of these mutations on the associated biological cost and the role that ß-lactamase activity plays per se in contributing to the above-mentioned virulence attenuation are unknown. The same questions remain unsolved for plasmid-encoded AmpC-type ß-lactamases such as FOX enzymes, some of which also provide resistance to new ß-lactam-ß-lactamase inhibitor combinations. Here, we assessed from different perspectives the effects of changes in the active center and, thus, in the hydrolytic spectrum resistance to inhibitors of AmpC-type ß-lactamases on the fitness and virulence of P. aeruginosa, using site-directed mutagenesis; the previously described AmpC variants T96I, G183D, and ΔG229-E247; and, finally, blaFOX-4 versus blaFOX-8. Our results indicate the essential role of AmpC activity per se in causing the reported full virulence attenuation (in terms of growth, motility, cytotoxicity, and Galleria mellonella larvae killing), although the biological cost of the above-mentioned AmpC-type variants was similar to that of the wild-type enzymes. This suggests that there is not an important biological burden that may limit the selection/spread of these variants, which could progressively compromise the future effectiveness of the above-mentioned drug combinations. IMPORTANCE The growing antibiotic resistance of the top nosocomial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa pushes research to explore new therapeutic strategies, for which the resistance-versus-virulence balance is a promising source of targets. While resistance often entails significant biological costs, little is known about the bases of the virulence attenuations associated with a resistance mechanism as extraordinarily relevant as ß-lactamase production. We demonstrate that besides potential energy and cell wall alterations, the enzymatic activity of the P. aeruginosa cephalosporinase AmpC is essential for causing the full attenuation associated with its hyperproduction by affecting different features related to pathogenesis, a fact exploitable from the antivirulence perspective. Less encouraging, we also show that the production of different chromosomal/plasmid-encoded AmpC derivatives conferring resistance to some of the newest antibiotic combinations causes no significantly increased biological burdens, which suggests a free way for the selection/spread of these types of variants, potentially compromising the future effectiveness of these antipseudomonal therapies.

Controlling antibiotic resistance in the ICU: different bacteria, different strategies.

To reduce antimicrobial resistance in the intensive care unit, hospitals are developing strategies such as improving infection control, adhering to prescribed formularies, requiring prior approval for using certain antibiotics, setting limits on the duration of antimicrobial therapy, and rotating the use of antimicrobial drugs on a regular schedule. Each strategy has theoretical benefits and limitations, but good data on their efficacy in controlling antimicrobial resistance are limited.