Prevalence of Quorum-Sensing System Genes and Drug Resistance among Clinical Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in Hamadan, West of Iran

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESPseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen in the health-care system and a leading causative agent of high mortality in hospitalized patients significantly, immunocompromised. Quorum sensing (QS) system involves biofilm formation, expression of various virulence factors, and development of drug resistance that causes prolonged patient infections. Therefore, due to the significant role of the QS system in enhancing the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of QS genes, as well as the biofilm-forming capacity and antibiotic resistance pattern among P. aeruginosa strains.MATERIALS AND METHODSA total of ۱۲۰ isolates of P. aeruginosa were collected from different clinical specimens. The disk diffusion method was performed to detect the antibiotic resistance pattern and MDRPA/XDRPA strains. The microtiter plate (MTP) method was applied to investigate the biofilm-forming ability of isolates. Finally, the prevalence of rhlI, rhlR, lasI, and lasR genes was assessed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONOverall, ۱۰۶ (۸۸.۳%) and ۳۲ (۲۶.۶%) isolates were found as MDRPA and XDRPA, respectively. The most and the less resistance rates were shown against ceftazidime (۷۵.۰%) and ciprofloxacin (۴۶.۶%), respectively. The prevalence rates of QS genes among all investigated isolates were as follows: rhlI (۸۱.۶%), rhlR (۹۰.۸%), lasI (۸۹.۱%), and lasR (۷۸.۳%). The most common type of QS genes among MDRPA isolates were related to rhlR and lasI with ۹۴.۳%. Also, rhlI, rhlR, and lasI genes were positive for all XDRPA isolates. Also, rhlR (۹۴.۷%) and lasR (۸۱.۷%) genes have the highest and lowest frequency among biofilm-forming isolates, respectively.CONCLUSIONOur findings revealed the significance of the QS system in biofilm formation and development of MDRP/XDRPA strains. Administration of QS inhibitors could be a promising strategy for preventing the spread of resistant isolates, which are life-threatening agents worldwide.

کلیدواژه ها:

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ، Quorum sensing ، Biofilm formation ، Drug-resistant