Contribution of extended-spectrum AmpC (ESAC) β-lactamases to carbapenem resistance in Escherichia coli

ESAC beta-lactamases have increased catalytic efficiencies toward extended-spectrum cephalosporins and to a lesser extent toward imipenem as compared with the wild-type cephalosporinases. We show here that ESAC expression associated with the loss of both OmpC and OmpF porins conferred in Escherichia coli a high level of resistance to ertapenem and reduced the susceptibility to imipenem. On the contrary, ESAC expressed in the OmpC- or OmpF-deficient E. coli strains or narrow-spectrum cephalosporinase expressed in the OmpC-and OmpF-deficient strain do not confer reduced susceptibility to any of the carbapenems. The production of ESAC beta-lactamase in favorable E. coli background may represent an additional mechanism of resistance to ertapenem.