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Efflux is an important resistance mechanism in Staphylococcus aureus, but its frequency in patients with bacteremia is unknown. Nonreplicate bloodstream isolates were collected over an 8-month period, and MICs of four common efflux pump substrates, with and without the broad-spectrum efflux pump inhibitor reserpine, were determined (n = 232). A reserpine-associated fourfold decrease in MIC was considered indicative of efflux. Strains exhibiting efflux of at least two of the four substrates were identified ("effluxing strains" n = 114). For these strains, MICs with or without reserpine for an array of typical substrates and the expression of mepA, mdeA, norA, norB, norC, and qacA/B were determined using quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR). A fourfold or greater increase in gene expression was considered significant. The most commonly effluxed substrates were ethidium bromide and chlorhexidine (100 and 96% of effluxing strains, respectively). qRT-PCR identified strains overexpressing mepA (5 4.4%), mdeA (13 11.4%), norA (26 22.8%), norB (29 25.4%), and norC (19 16.7%); 23 strains overexpressed two or more genes. Mutations probably associated with increased gene expression included a MepR-inactivating substitution and norA promoter region insertions or deletions. Mutations possibly associated with increased expression of the other analyzed genes were also observed. Effluxing strains comprised 49% of all strains studied (114/232 strains), with nearly half of these overexpressing genes encoding MepA, MdeA, and/or NorABC (54/114 strains). Reduced susceptibility to biocides may contribute to persistence on environmental surfaces, and efflux of drugs such as fluoroquinolones may predispose strains to high-level target-based resistance.
DeMarco et al. (Tue,) studied this question.