Profiling antibiotic susceptibility among distinct Enterococcus faecalis isolates from dental root canalsShow others and affiliations
2024 (English)In: Antibiotics, E-ISSN 2079-6382, Vol. 13, no 1, article id 18
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Enterococcus faecalis, a leading multi-resistant nosocomial pathogen, is also the most frequently retrieved species from persistently infected dental root canals, suggesting that the oral cavity is a possible reservoir for resistant strains. However, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for oral enterococci remains scarce. Here, we examined the AST profiles of 37 E. faecalis strains, including thirty-four endodontic isolates, two vanA-type vancomycin-resistant isolates, and the reference strain ATCC-29212. Using Etest gradient strips and established EUCAST standards, we determined minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for amoxicillin, vancomycin, clindamycin, tigecycline, linezolid, and daptomycin. Results revealed that most endodontic isolates were susceptible to amoxicillin and vancomycin, with varying levels of intrinsic resistance to clindamycin. Isolates exceeding the clindamycin MIC of the ATCC-29212 strain were further tested against last-resort antibiotics, with 7/27 exhibiting MICs matching the susceptibility breakpoint for tigecycline, and 1/27 reaching that of linezolid. Both vanA isolates confirmed vancomycin resistance and demonstrated resistance to tigecycline. In conclusion, while most endodontic isolates remained susceptible to first-line antibiotics, several displayed marked intrinsic clindamycin resistance, and MICs matched tigecycline’s breakpoint. The discovery of tigecycline resistance in vanA isolates highlights the propensity of clinical clone clusters to acquire multidrug resistance. Our results emphasize the importance of implementing AST strategies in dental practices for continued resistance surveillance.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2024. Vol. 13, no 1, article id 18
Keywords [en]
antibiotic resistance, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, endodontic infections, Enterococcus faecalis, tigecycline-resistant VRE, vancomycin-resistant enterococci
National Category
Dentistry Infectious Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-220483DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics13010018ISI: 001151768200001PubMedID: 38247577Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85183595900OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-220483DiVA, id: diva2:1834787
Funder
Karolinska Institute2024-02-052024-02-052025-04-24Bibliographically approved