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Mechanisms of Resistance

Hydrolysis and Inhibition Profiles of β-Lactamases from Molecular Classes A to D with Doripenem, Imipenem, and Meropenem

Anne Marie Queenan, Wenchi Shang, Robert Flamm, Karen Bush
Anne Marie Queenan
Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, L.L.C., 1000 Route 202 South, Raritan, New Jersey 08869
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  • For correspondence: aqueenan@its.jnj.com
Wenchi Shang
Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, L.L.C., 1000 Route 202 South, Raritan, New Jersey 08869
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Robert Flamm
Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, L.L.C., 1000 Route 202 South, Raritan, New Jersey 08869
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Karen Bush
Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, L.L.C., 1000 Route 202 South, Raritan, New Jersey 08869
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DOI: 10.1128/AAC.01004-09
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ABSTRACT

The stability of doripenem to hydrolysis by β-lactamases from molecular classes A to D was compared to the stability for imipenem and meropenem. Doripenem was stable to hydrolysis by extended-spectrum β-lactamases and AmpC type β-lactamases and demonstrated high affinity for the AmpC enzymes. For the serine carbapenemases SME-3 and KPC-2 and metallo-β-lactamases IMP-1 and VIM-2, doripenem hydrolysis was generally 2- to 150-fold slower than imipenem hydrolysis. SPM-1 hydrolyzed meropenem and doripenem fourfold faster than imipenem.

Doripenem is a parenteral carbapenem with broad-spectrum activity against many aerobic and anaerobic pathogens. Doripenem MICs against gram-negative clinical isolates are frequently ≤0.5 μg/ml, even in Enterobacteriaceae expressing extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) or overproduced AmpC (7, 12, 14). Resistance to doripenem and other carbapenems is observed in isolates producing metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) or class A or class D carbapenemases (12, 13). In this study, we evaluated the hydrolysis of doripenem by a spectrum of β-lactamases from almost every functional group (3) and compared the doripenem kinetic profiles to those obtained for imipenem and meropenem.

(These data were presented in part as poster P909 at the 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Barcelona, Spain, 2008.)

The broth microdilution methodology was used to determine MICs (6). Doripenem was from Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (Hyogo, Japan). Benzylpenicillin and cephaloridine were from Sigma (St. Louis, MO). Ceftazidime, imipenem, and meropenem were from U.S. Pharmacopeia (Rockville, MD).

MICs are shown in Table 1 for the strains used as sources of β-lactamases. The carbapenem MICs for isolates producing broad-spectrum, extended-spectrum, and AmpC β-lactamases were ≤2 μg/ml across the represented bacteria. Doripenem and meropenem MICs for the non-carbapenemase-producing isolates were generally four- to eightfold lower than those obtained for imipenem. Reduced susceptibility was apparent in isolates that expressed β-lactamases with known carbapenem hydrolysis profiles.

To compare the hydrolytic profiles of doripenem, imipenem, and meropenem, enzymes from freeze-thaw lysates were purified from lysates to >90% homogeneity by fast protein liquid chromatography, except for the OXA enzymes (∼50% purity) (15). Proteins were separated on Superdex 100 gel filtration and HiTrap SP cation- and Q anion-exchange columns (GE Healthcare, Piscataway, NJ). Columns and buffers were chosen based on the β-lactamase isoelectric point. Purity was assessed on NuPAGE 10% BT gels stained with colloidal blue (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA), and for protein quantitation, we used the Micro BCA assay (Pierce, Rockford, IL).

Initial hydrolysis rates were measured at 25°C in 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) by using a Shimadzu UV-1601 spectrophotometer (15, 18). Reactions with MBLs contained 50 μM ZnCl2, and those with OXA enzymes contained 10 mM NaHCO3. Km and Vmax calculations used the Hanes plot. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa AmpC and CMY-2, hydrolysis was too slow to determine Km; a 50% inhibitory concentration obtained graphically using nitrocefin as a substrate was used to determine apparent Ki values (5). Extinction coefficients were as follows: Δε295 = 11,500 M−1 cm−1 for imipenem, Δε297 = 10,940 M−1 cm−1 for meropenem, and Δε297 = 11,460 M−1 cm−1 for doripenem. In general, substrates were tested on at least two separate days with variations of ≤20% of the average value reported in the tables.

Hydrolysis rates, Km values, and hydrolytic efficiencies of noncarbapenemases are shown in Table 2. The class A β-lactamases from gram-negative bacteria included TEM-1 and SHV-1 (broad-spectrum β-lactamases), and CTX-M-15, K1, and TEM-26 (ESBLs). The class C β-lactamases were represented by chromosomal AmpC enzymes from Enterobacter cloacae and P. aeruginosa and a plasmid-mediated AmpC enzyme, CMY-2. The OXA-10 (PSE-2) enzyme represented a class D noncarbapenemase. OXA-10 and OXA-23 were obtained at ∼50% purity; therefore, Vmax values are listed in Table 2 instead of kcat values. The kcat values and hydrolytic efficiencies for the carbapenems were generally at least 2 orders of magnitude lower than those for the standard substrates, benzylpenicillin or cephaloridine. Km or Ki values were in the low micromolar or nanomolar range for CMY-2 and the AmpC enzyme of P. aeruginosa, indicating high carbapenem affinity of AmpC type β-lactamases. However, hydrolysis was very inefficient due to the low kcat values. The kcat values for imipenem ranged from 0.002 s−1 for the TEM-26 enzyme to 0.2 s−1 for CTX-M-15. Regardless of β-lactamase class, doripenem and meropenem kcat values were often at least 10-fold lower than imipenem hydrolysis rates for the enzymes exhibiting measurable hydrolysis (Table 2).

Table 3 shows the kinetic parameters for enzymes with carbapenemase activity. Serine carbapenemases of functional group 2f were represented by the prevalent KPC-2 enzyme and the uncommon SME-3 β-lactamase. Both enzymes demonstrated similar kcat values for doripenem and meropenem, ranging from 0.55 s−1 to 3.6 s−1, while the imipenem kcat values were at least ninefold higher for KPC-2 and 100-fold higher for SME-3. Hydrolytic efficiencies for all three carbapenems were similar for the KPC-2 enzyme, whereas the hydrolytic efficiencies for doripenem and meropenem with the SME-3 carbapenemase were 10 to 20% of the rates observed with imipenem and cephaloridine.

The class B MBLs were represented by IMP-1, VIM-2, and SPM-1. The IMP-1 and SPM-1 MBLs demonstrated robust hydrolysis of the carbapenems, with kcat values ranging from 26 to 190 s−1. Hydrolysis by VIM-2 was slower, with carbapenem kcat values of 2 to 20 s−1. For both IMP and VIM, imipenem was the most labile substrate, but the pattern was reversed for SPM, for which doripenem and meropenem were hydrolyzed approximately fourfold faster than was imipenem. Hydrolysis of meropenem was previously observed to be faster than that of imipenem in kinetic studies of SPM-1 (11). The IMP-1 enzyme demonstrated the most efficient hydrolysis, with kcat/Km values that were 2.5- to 11-fold higher than the values obtained for SPM-1 and 18- to 128-fold higher than those obtained for VIM-2.

The OXA-type carbapenemases were represented by OXA-23, one of the most prevalent OXA carbapenemases found in Acinetobacter baumannii (19). These enzymes typically demonstrate weak hydrolysis of imipenem and meropenem (20); supporting these observations, OXA-23 had very low relative Vmax values for all the carbapenems compared to those for penicillin, the preferred substrate. Although biphasic, or burst, kinetics are published for some substrates with oxacillinases (9), only imipenem demonstrated this behavior in our study.

In summary, doripenem was stable to hydrolysis by many β-lactamases of classes A, C, and D, including ESBLs, with high affinity demonstrated for the AmpC cephalosporinases. As expected, the class B metallo-β-lactamases, and the serine carbapenemases of classes A and D, demonstrated hydrolysis of all the carbapenems tested. For these enzymes, with the exception of SPM-1, doripenem and meropenem were hydrolyzed more slowly than was imipenem. These data are consistent with the potent microbiological activity observed with doripenem, especially against most gram-negative aerobic pathogens.

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TABLE 1.

MICs for strains expressing characterized β-lactamasesb

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TABLE 2.

Hydrolysis parameters for β-lactamases with low or undetectable carbapenemase activitya

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TABLE 3.

Hydrolysis parameters for carbapenemasesa

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank S. Crespo-Carbone for the purification of the P99 β-lactamase and G. M. Rossolini for the IMP-1 strain. A.M.Q. thanks C. B. Origlio for helpful discussions.

We are current and past employees of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, L.L.C.

FOOTNOTES

    • Received 17 July 2009.
    • Returned for modification 28 August 2009.
    • Accepted 22 October 2009.
  • Copyright © 2010 American Society for Microbiology

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Hydrolysis and Inhibition Profiles of β-Lactamases from Molecular Classes A to D with Doripenem, Imipenem, and Meropenem
Anne Marie Queenan, Wenchi Shang, Robert Flamm, Karen Bush
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy Dec 2009, 54 (1) 565-569; DOI: 10.1128/AAC.01004-09

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Hydrolysis and Inhibition Profiles of β-Lactamases from Molecular Classes A to D with Doripenem, Imipenem, and Meropenem
Anne Marie Queenan, Wenchi Shang, Robert Flamm, Karen Bush
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy Dec 2009, 54 (1) 565-569; DOI: 10.1128/AAC.01004-09
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KEYWORDS

Anti-Bacterial Agents
carbapenems
Enzyme Inhibitors
imipenem
Thienamycins
beta-lactamase inhibitors

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