Molecular characterization of Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies isolated from patients attending an Italian Cystic Fibrosis Centre.

Molecular characterization of Mycobacterium abscessus subspecies isolated from patients attending an Italian Cystic Fibrosis Centre. New Microbiol. 2020 Jun 13;43(3) Authors: Teri A, Sottotetti S, Arghittu M, Girelli D, Biffi A, D'Accico M, Daccò V, Gambazza S, Pizzamiglio G, Trovato A, Tortoli E, Colombo C, Cariani L Abstract Mycobacterium abscessus (MABS) infection represents significant management challenge in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. This retrospective study (2005-2016) aims to determine the prevalence of the subspecies of MABS isolated from CF patients, to evaluate the persistence over the years of a single subspecies of MABS and to correlate mutations responsible for macrolides and amikacin resistance with MIC values. We investigated 314 strains (1 isolate/patient/year) isolated from the lower respiratory tract of 51 chronically infected CF patients. Sequencing of rpoB gene was performed to identify the MABS subspecies. The erm(41) gene was sequenced to differentiate the strains with and without inducible macrolide resistance. Regions of 23S and 16S rRNA were sequenced to investigate mutations responsible for constitutive resistance to macrolides and aminoglycosides, respectively. Antibiotic susceptibility, using commercial microdilution plates, was evaluated according to CLSI. M. abscessus subsp. abscessus accounted for 64% of the isolates, bolletii subspecies for 16% and massiliense subspecies for 20%. All the massilie...
Source: New Microbiologica - Category: Microbiology Tags: New Microbiol Source Type: research