Imipenem- and meropenem-resistant mutants of Enterobacter cloacae and Proteus rettgeri lack porins

Abstract

Carbapenems such as imipenem and meropenem are not rapidly hydrolyzed by commonly occurring beta-lactamases. Nevertheless, it was possible, by mutagenesis and selection, to isolate mutant strains of Enterobacter cloacae and Proteus rettgeri that are highly resistant to meropenem and imipenem. Two alterations were noted in the E. cloacae mutants. First, the mutant strains appeared to be strongly derepressed in the production of beta-lactamases, which reached a very high level when the strains were grown in the presence of imipenem. Second, these mutants were deficient in the production of nonspecific porins, as judged by the pattern of outer membrane proteins as well as by reconstitution assays of permeability. As with most porin-deficient mutants, their cultures were unstable, and their cultivation in the absence of carbapenems rapidly led to an overgrowth of porin-producing revertants. Analysis of the data suggests that the synergism between the lowered outer membrane permeability and the slow but significant hydrolysis of carbapenems by the overproduced enzymes can explain the resistance phenotypes quantitatively, although the possibility of alteration of the target cannot be excluded at present. With P. rettgeri mutants, there was no indication of further derepression of beta-lactamase, but the enzyme hydrolyzed imipenem much more efficiently than the E. cloacae enzyme did. In addition, the major porin was absent in one mutant strain. These results suggest that a major factor for the carbapenem resistance of these enteric bacteria is the porin deficiency, and this conclusion forms a contrast to the situation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in which the most prevalent class of imipenem-resistant mutants appears to lack the specific channel protein D2 yet retains the major nonspecific porin F.