Resumen

Introduction: Metronidazole is a significant antibiotic used for eradication of Helicobactor pylori infections and it is of notice that metronidazole-resistant clinical isolates have been found in high rates worldwide. While the RND family of efflux pumps plays a central role in drug resistance among Gram-negative bacteria, this is questionable for H. pylori. Methodology: To understand whether TolC homologues of RND pumps contribute to metronidazole resistance in H. pylori isolates, expression of four TolC homologous genes of five resistant clinical isolates exposed to varying concentrations of metronidazole were evaluated by RT-PCR and transcriptional analysis. Results: The results indicate that excess amounts of metronidazole are able to increase the expression level of these genes at the transcriptional stage. Conclusions: Therefore, it may be hypothesized that use of metronidazole in H. pyori infection can induce metronidazole resistance. Furthermore, the RND family of efflux pumps may contribute to metronidazole resistance in clinical isolates of H. pylori.

Palabras clave: H. pylori; metronidazole; RND efflux pump.

2011-04-18   |   479 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 5 Núm.2. Febrero 2011 Pags. 88-93. J Infect Developing Countries 2011; 5(2)