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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, June 2004, p . 2081-2084, Vol . 48, No . 6 In Vitro Activities of Garenoxacin and Levofloxacin against Chlamydia pneumoniae Are Not Affected by Presence of Mycoplasma DNARaymond P . Smith,1,2 Aldona L . Baltch,1,2* William J . Ritz,1 Andrea N . Carpenter,3 Tanya A . Halse,3 and Lawrence H . Bopp1 Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center,1 Albany Medical College,2 Wadsworth Laboratories, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York3 Received 4 November 2003/ Returned for modification 12 January 2004/ Accepted 10 February 2004
Garenoxacin (BMS-284756) is a new des-F(6)-quinolone with excellent activity against common respiratory pathogens (9) . We studied the in vitro activities of garenoxacin against 20 C . pneumoniae isolates obtained from both respiratory tract and atheroma tissue sources . In addition, because the presence of Mycoplasma is common in reference C . pneumoniae cultures (13, 18) and is known to affect a variety of cell functions (5, 22), we were concerned about the potential effect of the presence of Mycoplasma in HEp-2 cells on antibiotic susceptibility testing with C . pneumoniae (5, 18) . Therefore, we tested the original cultures, as well as the amplified preparations of C . pneumoniae used for MIC testing, for the presence of Mycoplasma DNA using PCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene (6, 26) . We then identified, using DNA sequencing techniques and comparison of the sequences to those in sequence databases, the species of Mycoplasma present in selected cultures .
Antimicrobial agents. Garenoxacin (Bristol-Myers Squibb Laboratories, Wallingford, Conn.) and levofloxacin (Ortho-McNeill Pharmaceuticals, Raritan, N.J.) were prepared in accordance with the suppliers' instructions . Filter-sterilized antibiotic solutions were prepared fresh for each daily experiment and were used immediately . Determinations of MICs and MBCs. Susceptibility testing was performed at the Infectious Disease Research Laboratory, Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center, as described previously (11, 17) . Briefly, HEp-2 cell monolayers in 96-well plates were inoculated with C . pneumoniae at a multiplicity of infection of 1 (103 inclusion-forming units/well), centrifuged at 1,700 x g, and incubated for 1 h at 37°C . Following this incubation, the medium (minimal essential medium [Gibco BRL, Grand Island, N.Y.] containing Earle's salts and L-glutamine and supplemented with 2% NaHCO3 and 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum [HyClone, Logan, Utah]) was removed by aspiration and replaced with fresh medium containing 1 µg of cycloheximide per ml and serial twofold dilutions of the test antibiotics . Following incubation for 72 h at 37°C, the inclusions were stained with fluorescein-labeled conjugated monoclonal antibody (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Redmond, Wash.) and counted with a fluorescence microscope . The MIC was defined as the lowest antibiotic concentration (in micrograms per milliliter) at which no inclusions were seen . For minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) determination, the cultures were frozen at 70°C and then thawed . Fresh HEp-2 cell monolayers were then inoculated with the resulting lysates, incubated for 72 h, fixed, and stained; and the inclusions were counted as described above . The MBC was defined as the lowest antibiotic concentration (in micrograms per milliliter) at which no inclusions were observed after passage of cell lysates to antibiotic-free, fresh HEp-2 cell monolayers . All conditions were studied in duplicate, and each experiment was run at least three times . Mycoplasma PCR testing. Mycoplasma PCR testing was performed at the Wadsworth Laboratories, New York State Department of Health, Albany . Briefly, 500-µl aliquots of C . pneumoniae cell cultures were placed in microcentrifuge tubes for PCR analysis . These aliquots were concentrated by centrifugation at 13,000 x g for 10 min at room temperature, followed by the removal of 480 µl of the medium and the addition of 30 µl of sterile water to the remaining 20 µl of medium and the pellet . The samples were then vortexed and heated to 95°C for 15 min . Ten-microliter aliquots of the lysates were then used directly for PCR amplification . Mycoplasma genus-specific PCR was performed with a total reaction mixture volume of 100 µl . The reaction mixture contained each primer at a final concentration of 0.5 µM (primer Myco-F [5'-GGGAGCAAACAGGATTAGATACCCT-3'] and primer Myco-R [5'-TGCACCATCTGTCACTCTGTTAACCTC-3']) (26); each deoxynucleoside triphosphate at a final concentration of 200 µM; and 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.3), 50 mM KCl, 1.5 mM MgCl2, and 2.5 U Amplitaq Gold (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, Calif.) (final concentrations) . Thermocycler (9600; Applied Biosystems) conditions consisted of an initial incubation of 95°C for 9 min, followed by 40 cycles of 94°C for 45 s, 55°C for 60 s, and 72°C for 2 min (6) . An additional incubation at 72°C for 10 min was added to complete the extension . To prevent amplicon contamination, aerosol-barrier tips were used . The reagent mixtures were prepared in a limited-access PCR clean room and were moved to a sample preparation room for addition of cell lysates . The samples were then taken to a PCR instrumentation room for amplification . A negative control with no template was included, as was a control known to be positive . The amplified products were analyzed on a 2% GTG agarose gel containing ethidium bromide and were visualized at maximal levels of intensity with a Gel Doc 1000 gel analysis system (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, Calif.) . The oligonucleotides were synthesized in the Wadsworth Center Molecular Genetics Core Facility, New York State Department of Health . All 20 C . pneumoniae preparations generated by growth in HEp-2 cells for use for susceptibility testing were evaluated by PCR for the presence of Mycoplasma DNA . In addition, 7 of these 20 preparations (5 that tested positive and 2 that tested negative for Mycoplasma DNA) were diluted 1:10 and retested . Finally, the original cultures (those obtained from outside laboratories) of these seven isolates were tested . Sequencing of PCR products. Sequencing of the PCR products was performed at the Wadsworth Laboratories, New York State Department of Health . The PCR products of Mycoplasma spp . from five C . pneumoniae cultures were purified by using ExoSAP-IT, a commercial reagent (U.S . Biochemicals, Cleveland, Ohio), by using two hydrolytic enzymes to remove unwanted deoxynucleoside triphosphates and primers in a PCR product mixture . The clean PCR products were analyzed for purity and concentration by running 2 µl of each product on a 1% agarose gel alongside 2 µl of a Low DNA Mass Ladder (catalog no . 10068-013; Invitrogen Life Technologies) . The PCR products were sequenced at the Wadsworth Center Molecular Genetics Core Facility . The sequences were compared to those in the GenBank database (Wisconsin package [Genetics Computer Group], version 10.0-UNIX) and the database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) .
The second purpose of this study was to evaluate cultures of C . pneumoniae isolates from various sources (Table 1) by PCR for the presence of Mycoplasma DNA . Aliquots from cultures of 17 of 20 (85%) C . pneumoniae isolates were positive for Mycoplasma DNA . Mycoplasma DNA amplicons from selected positive cultures were sequenced, and the sequences were compared to those in the GenBank and NCBI databases . The cultures of one isolate from Finland (strain Ka50) and one isolate from Japan (strain AR51) contained DNA whose sequences most closely matched that of M . hominis (99.6% and 98.7% identities, respectively), while the cultures of three isolates from the United States contained DNA whose sequences most closely matched those of Mycoplasma species not considered to be of clinical significance . Contamination of chlamydial stock cultures with Mycoplasma spp . has been recognized in research laboratories for many years (5, 13, 18) . Methods to detect Mycoplasma spp . in chlamydia cultures, as well as tissue culture cell lines and media, include immunofluorescence and direct DNA detection methods, primarily PCR (19, 25) . It is unclear whether C . pneumoniae isolates and Mycoplasma spp . coexist in clinical specimens or whether Mycoplasma spp . are acquired in the laboratory . The results of assays for biological activity, such as assays for the production of inflammatory mediators (14, 21), nitroblue tetrazolium reduction assays (7), and assays for the uptake of specific small molecules such as nucleosides, have been shown to be affected (20) by the presence of Mycoplasma when cell cultures containing Mycoplasma spp . are used in research studies . There is also evidence that a relationship exists between the number of Mycoplasma organisms infecting cells in culture and the ability of the cell culture to support the growth of C . pneumoniae (15) . Furthermore, immunodiagnostic testing for infection with C . pneumoniae could be affected by the presence of Mycoplasma sp . antigens in immunofluorescence test systems thought to be composed of chlamydial antigens only (13) . In our study, in which HEp-2 cells were carefully monitored for the presence of Mycoplasma spp . at set intervals, there was no evidence for the presence of Mycoplasma other than in the cultures of C . pneumoniae isolates obtained from outside laboratories or in subcultures produced from them . Among the five Mycoplasma DNA-positive C . pneumoniae cultures selected for DNA sequencing, the data indicated that a clinically significant Mycoplasma, M . hominis, was present in two isolates (one isolate each from Finland and Japan) . However, the sequences of the M . hominis DNA from those two C . pneumoniae isolates differed slightly . The DNA of three Mycoplasma species not considered to be of clinical significance was present in the three C . pneumoniae isolates from cultures obtained from the United States . For the five C . pneumoniae isolates which were positive for Mycoplasma DNA and for which the Mycoplasma PCR amplicons were sequenced, the contents of both the original vials containing C . pneumoniae received from outside laboratories and the aliquots of C . pneumoniae grown in our laboratory from the organisms in the original vials were positive by PCR for the presence of Mycoplasma DNA . In addition, we tested the contents of the original vials for two isolates that were PCR negative for Mycoplasma DNA following amplification in our laboratory . The contents of these original vials were PCR negative for Mycoplasma DNA . Finally, of the five Mycoplasma amplicons that were sequenced, each had a different sequence . These data all indicate that the Mycoplasma DNA detected in our C . pneumoniae cultures was present in the isolates when they arrived in our laboratory and support the idea that Mycoplasma contamination of C . pneumoniae cultures and/or the cell lines used to grow them is very common . We did not find evidence that the presence of Mycoplasma DNA affected the susceptibilities of C . pneumoniae to garenoxacin or levofloxacin . In this study we found that garenoxacin was more active than levofloxacin against C . pneumoniae . There are several possible explanations for the difference in activity . First, the intracellular concentration of garenoxacin may be significantly higher than that of levofloxacin . The intracellular concentration of levofloxacin in human monocytes in vitro has been studied previously (23) . To our knowledge, garenoxacin has not been studied in a similar system . However, results from two studies with these drugs in which comparable methods were used suggest that garenoxacin penetrates human phagocytic cells to a slightly greater extent than levofloxacin (2, 3) . Second, garenoxacin also has greater activity than levofloxacin in an in vitro assay of inhibition of C . pneumoniae DNA gyrase activity (1) . Finally, there may be differential penetration of the two drugs into HEp-2 cells, which were used in the susceptibility assays . No data regarding the latter possibility are available . The presence of Mycoplasma DNA in C . pneumoniae cultures did not appear to influence the antimicrobial susceptibility testing results for C . pneumoniae .
We acknowledge the expert assistance of Ronald Limberger and Al Waring of the Wadsworth Laboratories, New York State Department of Health, who supervised and performed the PCR testing for Mycoplasma DNA .
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