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. 2024 Jun 12;19(6):e0305431.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305431. eCollection 2024.

Colistin-resistance genes in Escherichia coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infections

Waleed M Al Momani  1 , Nour Ata  2 , Ahmed O Maslat  2
Affiliations

Colistin-resistance genes in Escherichia coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infections

Waleed M Al Momani et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: The incidence of antimicrobial resistance is alarmingly high because it occurs in humans, environment, and animal sectors from a "One Health" viewpoint. The emergence of plasmid-carried mobile colistin-resistance (MCR) genes limits the efficacy of colistin, which is the last-line treatment for multidrug resistance (MDR) against gram-negative infections.

Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate emergence of colistin-resistance (MCR 1-5) genes in E. coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Jordan.

Methods: E. coli (n = 132) were collected from urine specimens. The E. coli isolated from human UTI patients were examined the resistance to colistin based on the presence of MCR (1-5). All isolates were tested against 20 antimicrobials using the standard disk diffusion method. The broth microdilution technique was used to analyze colistin resistance. In addition, the MCR (1-5) genes were detected using multiplex PCR.

Results: Out of the 132 isolates, 1 isolate was colistin-resistant, having a minimum inhibitory concentration of 8 μg/mL and possessing MCR-1. All the E. coli isolates showed high resistance to penicillin (100%), amoxicillin (79.55%), cephalexin (75.76%), nalidixic acid (62.88%), tetracycline (58.33%), or cefepime (53.79).

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report on the presence of plasmid-coded MCR-1 in E. coli from a patient with UTIs in Jordan. This is a problematic finding because colistin is the last-line drug for the treatment of infections caused by MDR gram-negative bacteria. There is a crucial need to robustly utilize antibiotics to control and prevent the emergence and prevalence of colistin-resistance genes.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no competing interests.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Electrophoresis for Escherichia coli uspA gene.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Minimal inhibitory concentration value for E. coli (n = 132) isolates.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Electrophoresis for the single E. coli isolate that carried MCR-1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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