Combatting Quinolone Antimicrobial Resistance

描述（由申请人提供）：氟喹诺酮类药物是美国最常用的处方抗菌药物。氟喹诺酮和多重耐药细菌是世界范围内关注的新兴传染病病原体，E。大肠杆菌是一种重要的人类病原菌和优良的模式生物。Zechiedrich实验室的长期目标是确定细菌如何响应和抵抗抗菌药物，并利用这些知识来延长现有药物的有效性，并帮助设计新的治疗方案，以帮助预防和对抗氟喹诺酮和多重耐药细菌感染。该竞争性更新提案的目标是确定多药外排泵的（i）调节、（ii）细胞作用和（iii）分子机制，以及导致患者分离株中药物MIC增加的（iv）遗传改变和（v）选择机制。对氟喹诺酮类和多药耐药的大肠埃希菌有数千株特征性和非特征性的耐药菌株。本研究的主要目的是：（1）了解大肠杆菌耐氟喹诺酮类药物的外排泵之间的相互作用及其分子机制;（2）鉴定大肠杆菌对氟喹诺酮类和多药耐药的分子机制、突变体选择机制和遗传途径。大肠杆菌临床分离株。这些特定目的将通过三种高度相互关联的方法来实现：（i）分子方法将首先在确定的突变株中，然后在氟喹诺酮耐药大肠杆菌中，使用定量逆转录PCR来确定氟喹诺酮外排泵及其调节剂之间的转录关系。大肠杆菌临床分离株;（ii）计算方法将揭示指示功能性的外排泵的进化相关区域;以及（iii）使用成本有效的测序技术的基因组方法将鉴定与临床分离株的耐药性相关的相关可遗传变异。这些方法使用生物信息学和数据管理基础设施联系在一起。公共卫生相关性：由于开发的新抗菌药物很少，我们必须努力保护目前使用的抗菌药物。优良的生物利用度、低毒性和一般的低耐药频率，使氟喹诺酮类药物成为医生的重要药物类别。拟议的转化研究的结果将有助于医生的处方实践和新的治疗方案的设计，以对抗耐药细菌感染。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Fluoroquinolones are the most frequently prescribed antimicrobial agents in the United States. Fluoroquinolone- and multidrug-resistant bacteria are emerging infectious disease agents of worldwide concern and E. coli is an important human pathogen and excellent model organism. The long-term goals of the Zechiedrich laboratory are to determine how bacteria respond to and resist antimicrobial agents and to use this knowledge both to prolong the usefulness of current drugs and to aid in the design of new therapeutic protocols to help prevent and combat fluoroquinolone- and multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. The goals of this competing renewal proposal are to determine the (i) regulation, (ii) cellular roles, and (iii) molecular mechanisms of the multidrug efflux pumps, and the (iv) genetic alterations and (v) selection mechanisms that cause increased drug MICs in patient isolates. With thousands of characterized and uncharacterized fluoroquinolone- and multidrug-resistant E. coli patient isolates and the accompanying patient data, >9 million patient visits/year in the Texas Medical Center, and the strength of the combined expertise of the investigators, the goals will be achieved with the following Specific Aims: (1) Understand the interplay between and molecular mechanisms of the efflux pumps important for fluoroquinolone-resistance in E. coli; and (2) Identify molecular mechanisms, mutant selection mechanisms, and genetic pathways to fluoroquinolone- and multidrug-resistance in E. coli clinical isolates. These Specific Aims will be achieved by three highly inter-related approaches: (i) A molecular approach will determine the transcriptional relationships among the fluoroquinolone efflux pumps and their regulators using quantitative reverse- transcription PCR first in defined mutant strains and then in fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli clinical isolates; (ii) A computational approach will uncover evolutionarily related regions of the efflux pumps indicative of functionality; and (iii) A genomic approach using cost effective sequencing technologies will identify relevant heritable variations that correlate with the drug-resistance of the clinical isolates. These approaches are tied together using bioinformatics and data management infrastructures. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: With few new antimicrobial agents being developed, we must work to preserve those used currently. Excellent bioavailability, low toxicity and, in general, low resistance frequency, make the fluoroquinolones an important drug class to maintain in the physician's arsenal. Results from the proposed translational research will aid in the prescription practices of physicians and in the design of new therapeutic protocols to combat drug-resistant bacterial infections.