Abstract
Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen that is responsible for nosocomial infections. Imipenem and colistin are drugs that are commonly used to treat severe infections caused by A. baumannii, such as sepsis, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and bacteremia. However, some strains of A. baumannii have become resistant to these drugs, which is a concern for public health. Biofilms produced by A. baumannii increase their resistance to antibiotics and the cells within the inner layers of biofilm are exposed to sub-inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) of antibiotics. There is limited information available regarding how the genes of A. baumannii are linked to biofilm formation when the bacteria are exposed to sub-MICs of imipenem and colistin. Thus, this study’s objective was to explore this relationship by examining the genes involved in biofilm formation in A. baumannii when exposed to low levels of imipenem and colistin. The study found that exposing an isolate of A. baumannii to low levels of these drugs caused changes in their drug susceptibility pattern. The relative gene expression profiles of the biofilm-associated genes exhibited a change in their expression profile during short-term and long-term exposure. This study highlights the potential consequences of overuse and misuse of antibiotics, which can help bacteria become resistant to these drugs.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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The authors would like to thank Nitte (Deemed to be University), Mangaluru, Karnataka, India for providing the necessary facilities.
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This work was supported by the Nitte research grant with Grant No. N(DU)/RD/Grant/NUCSER/2020-20/04-9.
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Bhavya J.N performed the experiments, analyzed, and drafted the manuscript. Sureddi Sai Anugna did a part of the laboratory work and contributed to writing the manuscript. Ramya Premanath conceptualized, received funds, supervised, reviewed, and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Bhavya, J.N., Anugna, S.S. & Premanath, R. Sub-inhibitory concentrations of colistin and imipenem impact the expression of biofilm-associated genes in Acinetobacter baumannii. Arch Microbiol 206, 169 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-024-03869-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-024-03869-w