Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Clinical isolates of Nocardia brasiliensis from Japan exhibit variable susceptibility to the antibiotic imipenem

  • Published:
Mycopathologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Clinical isolates of Nocardia brasiliensis from Japan were classified into two groups based on their susceptibility to the carbapenem antibiotic, imipenem (IPM). Of 33 strains tested, 10 belonged to an IPM susceptible group, with MIC of from 0.25 to 2 εg/ml and a MIC80 value of 1.5 εg/ml for this antibiotic. The remaining 23 strains belonged to an IPMresistant group with MIC and MIC80 values of 8–16 εg/ml and >16 εg/ml, respectively. The type strain of N. brasiliensis belonged to this resistant group. Analysis of 16S rDNA genes sequences showed that the IPM susceptible group had characteristic single nucleotide substitutions at positions 103 (T), 381 (A), and 456 (A), in contrast to the IPM resistant group. This grouping, however, was not associated with their clinical manifestation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Kiska D, Hicks K, Pettit DJ. Identification of medically relevant Nocardia species with an abbreviated battery of tests. J Clin Microbiol 2002; 40: 1346–1351.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Hamid ME, Maldonado L, Eldin GS, Mohamed MF, Saeed NS, Goodfellow M. Nocardia africana sp. nov., a new pathogen isolated from patients with pulmonary infections. J Clin Microbiol 2001; 39: 625–630.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. McNeil MM, Brown JM. The medically important aerobic actinomycetes: epidemiology and microbiology. Clin Microbiol Rev 1994; 7: 357–417.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Wallace RJ, Brown BA, Blacklock Z, Ulrich R, Jost K, Brown JM, NcNeil MM, Onyi G, Steingrube VA, Gibson J. New Nocardia taxon among isolates of Nocardia of Nocardia pseudobrasiliensis associated with invasive diseases. J Clin Microbiol 1995; 33: 1528–2533.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Ruimy R, Riegel P, Carlotti A, Boiron P, Bernardin G, Monteil H, Wallace R J Jr, Charisten R. Nocardia pseudobrasiliensis sp. nov., a new species of Nocardia which groups bacterial strains previously identified as Nocardia brasiliensis and associated with invasive diseases. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1996; 24: 54–63.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Mikami Y, Yazawa K. Susceptibility patterns of pathogenic Nocardia to some selected antimicrobial agents and their usefulness in the identification work. Bull of JFCC 1989; 5: 89–95.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Gordon RE, Barnet DA, Handerhan JE, Pang CH. Nocardia coelica, Nocardia autotrophica, and the Nocardia strain. Int J Syt Bacteriol 1974; 24: 54–63.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Staneck JL, Roberts GD. Simplified approach to identification of aerobic actinomycetes by thin-layer chromatography. J Appl Microbiol 1974; 28: 226–231.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Lechevalier MP, Lechevalier HA. Chemical composition as a criterion in the classification of aerobic actinomycetes. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 1970; 20: 435–443.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Minnikin DE, Hutchison IG, Caldicott AB, and Goodfellow M. Thin-layer chromatography of methanolysates of mycolic acid-containing bacteria. J Chromatography 1980; 188: 221–233.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Chun J, Goodfellow M. A phylogenetic analysis of genus Nocardia with 16S rRNA gene sequences. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1955; 45: 240–245.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Tamura M, Watanabe K, Mikami Y, Yazawa K, Nishiumura K. Molecular characterization of new clinical isolates of Candida albicans and C. dubliniensis in Japan: Analysis reveals a new genotype of C. albicans with group 1 intron. J Clin Microbiol 2001; 39: 4309–4315.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Saitou N, Nei M. The neighbor-joining method: a new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. Mol Biol Evol 1987; 4: 406–425.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Thompson JD, Higgins DG, Gibson TJ. CLUSTAL W: Improving the sensitivity of progressive multiple sequence alignment through sequence weighting, position specific gap penalties and weight matrix choice. Nucleic Acids Res 1994; 22: 4673–4680.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Wilson RW, Steingrube VA, Brown BA, Blacklock Z, Jost Jr. KC, Mcnabb A, Colby WD, Biehle JR, Gibson JL, Wallace Jr. RJ. Recognition of a Nocardia transvalensis complex by resistance to aminoglycosides, including amikacin, and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. J Clin Microbiol 1997; 35: 2235–2242.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Pournaras S, Maniati M, Petinaki E, Tzouvelekis LS, Tsakris A, Legakis NJ, Maniatis AN. Hospital outbreak o multiple clones of Pseudomonas aeruginosa carrying the unrelated meatlo-β-lactamase gene variants blaVIM-2 and blaVIM-4. J Antimicrob Chemother 51: 1409–1414.

  17. Mercuri PS, Ishii Y, Ma L Rossolini GM, Luzzaro F, Amicosante G, Franceschini N, Galleni M. Clonal diversity and metallo-β-lactamase production in clinical isolates of Stenotrophomonas maltophila. Microb Drug Resist 2002; 193–200.

  18. Fitch WM, Margoliash E. Construction of phylogenetic trees: a method based on mutation distances as estimated from cytochrome c sequences is of general applicability. Science 1967; 155: 279–284.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Pathogenic Fungi and Microbial Toxicoses, Chiba University, 1-8-1, Inohana, Chuo-ku, 260-8673, Chiba, Japan

    Akiko Kageyama, Yasutaka Hoshino, Katsukiyo Yazawa & Yuzuru Mikami

  2. Chiba University Hospital, Chiba University, 1-8-1, Inohana, Chuo-ku, 260-8673, Chiba, Japan

    Masaharu Watanabe

Authors
  1. Akiko Kageyama
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yasutaka Hoshino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Masaharu Watanabe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Katsukiyo Yazawa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yuzuru Mikami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuzuru Mikami.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kageyama, A., Hoshino, Y., Watanabe, M. et al. Clinical isolates of Nocardia brasiliensis from Japan exhibit variable susceptibility to the antibiotic imipenem. Mycopathologia 158, 275–278 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-005-4487-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-005-4487-z

Key words

Search

Navigation