AAC
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kwon, D.-H.
Right arrow Articles by Graham, D. Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kwon, D.-H.
Right arrow Articles by Graham, D. Y.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, August 2000, p. 2133-2142, Vol. 44, No. 8
0066-4804/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Analysis of rdxA and Involvement of Additional Genes Encoding NAD(P)H Flavin Oxidoreductase (FrxA) and Ferredoxin-Like Protein (FdxB) in Metronidazole Resistance of Helicobacter pylori

Dong-Hyeon Kwon,1,* Fouad A. K. El-Zaatari,1,2 Mototsugu Kato,1 Michael S. Osato,1 Rita Reddy,1 Yoshio Yamaoka,1 and David Y. Graham1,2,3

Department of Medicine1 and Division of Molecular Virology,3 Baylor College of Medicine, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Laboratory, Veterans Affairs Medical Center,2 Houston, Texas 77030

Received 18 November 1999/Returned for modification 19 March 2000/Accepted 8 May 2000

Metronidazole (Mtz) is a critical ingredient of modern multidrug therapies for Helicobacter pylori infection. Mtz resistance reduces the effectiveness of these combinations. Although null mutations in a rdxA gene that encodes oxygen-insensitive NAD(P)H nitroreductase was reported in Mtz-resistant H. pylori, an intact rdxA gene has also been reported in Mtz-resistant H. pylori, suggesting that additional Mtz resistance mechanisms exist in H. pylori. We explored the nature of Mtz resistance among 544 clinical H. pylori isolates to clarify the role of rdxA inactivation in Mtz resistance and to identify another gene(s) responsible for Mtz resistance in H. pylori. Mtz resistance was present in 33% (181 of 544) of the clinical isolates. There was marked heterogeneity of resistance, with Mtz MICs ranging from 8 to >= 256 µg/ml. rdxA inactivation resulted in Mtz MICs of up to 32 µg/ml for 6 Mtz-sensitive H. pylori strains and 128 µg/ml for one Mtz-sensitive strain. Single or dual (with rdxA) inactivation of genes that encode ferredoxin-like protein (designated fdxB) and NAD(P)H flavin oxidoreductase (frxA) also increased the MICs of Mtz for sensitive and resistant strains with low to moderate levels of Mtz resistance. fdxB inactivation resulted in a lower level of resistance than that from rdxA inactivation, whereas frxA inactivation resulted in MICs similar to those seen with rdxA inactivation. Further evidence for involvement of the frxA gene in Mtz resistance included the finding of a naturally inactivated frxA but an intact rdxA in an Mtz-resistant strain, complementation of Mtz sensitivity from an Mtz-sensitive strain to an Mtz-resistant strain or vice versa by use of naturally inactivated or functional frxA genes, respectively, and transformation of an Mtz-resistant Escherichia coli strain to an Mtz sensitive strain by a naturally functional frxA gene but not an inactivated frxA gene. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that null mutations in fdxB, frxA, or rdxA may be involved in Mtz resistance.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Rm 3A-320 (111D), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 2002 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030. Phone: (713) 794-7276. Fax: (713) 795-4471. E-mail: dkwon{at}bcm.tmc.edu.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, August 2000, p. 2133-2142, Vol. 44, No. 8
0066-4804/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
Clin. Vaccine Immunol. Clin. Microbiol. Rev.
J. Clin. Microbiol. ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 2000 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.