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Huang L, Li Y, Xu C, Zhou M, Wang T, Wang T, Wang J, Tang J, Li Y, Dong N. A novel virulence plasmid encoding yersiniabactin, salmochelin, and RmpADC from hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae of distinct genetic backgrounds. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2023; 67:e0093523. [PMID: 37819104 PMCID: PMC10648971 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00935-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) is increasingly reported worldwide as a major clinical and public health threat. The virulence of hvKP is attributed largely to the carriage of virulence plasmids (KpVPs). To date, two dominant types of KpVP have been identified, namely, KpVP-1 and KpVP-2. In this study, we reported two hvKP strains from bloodstream infections that carry highly identical virulence plasmids that exhibited <40% coverage compared with KpVP-1 and KpVP-2. This novel virulence plasmid was designated KpVP-3. The two hvKP have different genetic backgrounds, which belonged to ST29-K54 and ST111-K63, respectively. They were both positive for the string test, highly virulent on the Galleria mellonella infection model, and possess high-level macrophage-killing resistance in vitro. Apart from the intrinsic non-susceptibility to ampicillin, both strains were susceptible to commonly used antibiotics. The virulence plasmid carried virulence genes rmpADC, iroBCDN (iro1), and the ybt locus (ybt4) which was not present on either KpVP-1 or KpVP-2. It did not carry antimicrobial resistance genes but carried an incomplete conjugation machinery containing only the traH and traF genes. The KpVP-3 plasmid was stably maintained in both hvKP strains and could not be eliminated with SDS treatment or by serial passage on stress-free agar plates. KpVP-3 was non-self-transmissible under experimental conditions. Data mining suggested KpVP-3-type plasmids have emerged in different countries including China, Australia, and the USA. The emergence of this novel virulence plasmid might pose a potential threat to public health. Heightened efforts are required to study its dissemination mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Huang
- Laboratory Department, Children’s Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Yunbing Li
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Experimental Center, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Chen Xu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
| | - Mi Zhou
- Department of Pharmacy, Children’s Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Tianyi Wang
- Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biology & Basic Medical Sciences, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Tianyu Wang
- Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biology & Basic Medical Sciences, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Jingyu Wang
- Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biology & Basic Medical Sciences, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Jiayi Tang
- Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biology & Basic Medical Sciences, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Yuanyuan Li
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Experimental Center, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Ning Dong
- Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biology & Basic Medical Sciences, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
- MOE Key Laboratory of Geriatric Diseases and Immunology, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Pathogen Bioscience and Anti-infective Medicine, School of Biology & Basic Medical Sciences, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
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Neumann B, Stürhof C, Rath A, Kieninger B, Eger E, Müller JU, von Poblocki A, Gerlitz N, Wollschläger P, Schneider-Brachert W, Schaufler K, Klaper K, Steinmann J. Detection and characterization of putative hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates in microbiological diagnostics. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19025. [PMID: 37923898 PMCID: PMC10624845 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46221-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae strains (hvKp) can cause invasive community-acquired infections in healthy patients of all ages. In this study, the prevalence of putative hvKp in a German tertiary center was investigated and hvKp were characterized by phenotypic and molecular assays. All K. pneumoniae isolates in routine microbiological diagnostics from a single center were screened by string-testing over a period of 6 months. String-test positive (≥ 0.5 mm) isolates were re-evaluated on different media and under various conditions (aerobe, anaerobe). For string-test positive isolates, genes (magA, iutA, rmpA and rmpA2) associated with hypermucoviscosity and hypervirulence were amplified by multiplex PCR. PCR-positive isolates were subjected to whole-genome sequencing and sedimentation and biofilm formation assays. From 1310 screened K. pneumoniae isolates in clinical routine 100 isolates (7.6%) were string test positive. From these, 9% (n = 9) were defined as putative hvKp (string-test+/PCR+). Highest rate of string-test-positive isolates was observed on MacConkey agar under aerobic conditions. Amongst these nine putative hvKp isolates, the international lineage ST23 carrying hvKp-plasmid pKpVP-1 was the most common, but also a rare ST86 with pKpVP-2 was identified. All nine isolates showed hypermucoviscosity and weak biofilm formation. In conclusion, 9% of string-positive, respectively 0.69% of all K. pneumoniae isolates from routine were defined as putative hypervirulent. MacConkey agar was the best medium for hvKp screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernd Neumann
- Institute of Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg General Hospital, Nuremberg, Germany.
- Institute of Hospital Hygiene, Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg General Hospital, Prof.-Ernst-Nathan-Str. 1, 90419, Nuremberg, Germany.
| | - Claudia Stürhof
- Institute of Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg General Hospital, Nuremberg, Germany
| | - Anca Rath
- Department of Infection Prevention and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Bärbel Kieninger
- Department of Infection Prevention and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Elias Eger
- Department of Epidemiology and Ecology of Antimicrobial Resistance, Helmholtz Institute for One Health, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research HZI, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Justus U Müller
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alexander von Poblocki
- Institute of Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg General Hospital, Nuremberg, Germany
| | - Nadja Gerlitz
- Institute of Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg General Hospital, Nuremberg, Germany
| | - Paul Wollschläger
- Institute of Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg General Hospital, Nuremberg, Germany
| | - Wulf Schneider-Brachert
- Department of Infection Prevention and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Schaufler
- Department of Epidemiology and Ecology of Antimicrobial Resistance, Helmholtz Institute for One Health, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research HZI, Greifswald, Germany
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Institute of Pharmacy, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Kathleen Klaper
- Division 18-Sexually transmitted bacterial Pathogens and HIV, Department of Infectious Diseases, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jörg Steinmann
- Institute of Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg General Hospital, Nuremberg, Germany
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Han YL, Wen XH, Zhao W, Cao XS, Wen JX, Wang JR, Hu ZD, Zheng WQ. Epidemiological characteristics and molecular evolution mechanisms of carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1003783. [PMID: 36188002 PMCID: PMC9524375 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1003783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP), a type of Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) that exhibits hypervirulence and carbapenem resistance phenotypes, can cause severe infections, both hospital- and community-acquired infections. CR-hvKP has brought great challenges to global public health and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. There are many mechanisms responsible for the evolution of the hypervirulence and carbapenem resistance phenotypes, such as the horizontal transfer of the plasmid carrying the carbapenem resistance gene to hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) or carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) acquiring a hypervirulence plasmid carrying a virulence-encoding gene. Notably, KP can evolve into CR-hvKP by acquiring a hybrid plasmid carrying both the carbapenem resistance and hypervirulence genes. In this review, we summarize the evolutionary mechanisms of resistance and plasmid-borne virulence as well as the prevalence of CR-hvKP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Ling Han
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
- Department of Parasitology, The Basic Medical College of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
| | - Xu-Hui Wen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
- Department of Parasitology, The Basic Medical College of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
| | - Wen Zhao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
| | - Xi-Shan Cao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
| | - Jian-Xun Wen
- Department of Medical Experiment Center, The Basic Medical Sciences College of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
| | - Jun-Rui Wang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
| | - Zhi-De Hu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
| | - Wen-Qi Zheng
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
- Department of Parasitology, The Basic Medical College of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
- *Correspondence: Wen-Qi Zheng,
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