This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Goerke, C. Articles by Wolz, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Goerke, C. Articles by Wolz, C.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, January 2006, p. 171-177, Vol. 50, No. 1
0066-4804/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.50.1.171-177.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Ciprofloxacin and Trimethoprim Cause Phage Induction and Virulence Modulation in Staphylococcus aureus

Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

Received 13 January 2005/ Returned for modification 22 May 2005/ Accepted 1 October 2005

In Staphylococcus aureus strains of human origin, phages which integrate into the chromosomal gene coding for ß-hemolysin (hlb) are widely distributed. Most of them encode accessory virulence determinants such as staphylokinase (sak) or enterotoxins. Here, we analyzed the effects of ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim on phage induction and expression of phage-encoded virulence factors by using isolates from patients with cystic fibrosis for which the induction of hlb-converting phages was demonstrated in vivo (C. Goerke, S. Matias y Papenberg, S. Dasbach, K. Dietz, R. Ziebach, B. C. Kahl, and C. Wolz, J. Infect. Dis. 189:724-734, 2004) as well as a 13 lysogen of phage-cured strain 8325-4. Treatment of lysogens with subinhibitory concentrations of either antibiotic resulted in (i) delysogenization of strains resembling the isolates picked up after chronic lung infection and (ii) replication of phages in the bacterial host in a dose-dependent manner. Ciprofloxacin treatment resulted in enhanced recA transcription, indicating involvement of the SOS response in phage mobilization. Induction of 13 was linked to elevated expression of the phage-encoded virulence gene sak, chiefly due to the activation of latent phage promoters. In summary, we could show the induction of hlb-converting phages and a subsequent virulence modulation of the host bacterium by ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Gould, I. M. (2008). Antibiotic policies to control hospital-acquired infection. J Antimicrob Chemother 61: 763-765 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dancer, S. J. (2008). The effect of antibiotics on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. J Antimicrob Chemother 61: 246-253 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Brazas, M. D., Breidenstein, E. B. M., Overhage, J., Hancock, R. E. W. (2007). Role of Lon, an ATP-Dependent Protease Homolog, in Resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to Ciprofloxacin. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 51: 4276-4283 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Varhimo, E., Savijoki, K., Jalava, J., Kuipers, O. P., Varmanen, P. (2007). Identification of a Novel Streptococcal Gene Cassette Mediating SOS Mutagenesis in Streptococcus uberis. J. Bacteriol. 189: 5210-5222 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• van der Mee-Marquet, N., Epinette, C., Loyau, J., Arnault, L., Domelier, A.-S., Losfelt, B., Girard, N., Quentin, R., and the Bloodstream Infection Study Group of the R, (2007). Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Bloodstream Infections Changed Significantly in 2006. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 851-857 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Cirz, R. T., O'Neill, B. M., Hammond, J. A., Head, S. R., Romesberg, F. E. (2006). Defining the Pseudomonas aeruginosa SOS Response and Its Role in the Global Response to the Antibiotic Ciprofloxacin.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 7101-7110 [Abstract] [Full Text]