Mechanisms of <i>mepA</i> Overexpression and Membrane Potential Reduction Leading to Ciprofloxacin Heteroresistance in a <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> Isolate.

ABSTRACT: Heteroresistance has seriously affected the evaluation of antibiotic efficacy against pathogenic bacteria, causing misjudgment of antibiotics' sensitivity in clinical therapy, leading to treatment failure, and posing a serious threat to current medical health. However, the mechanism of Staphylococcus aureus heteroresistance to ciprofloxacin remains unclear. In this study, heteroresistance to ciprofloxacin in S. aureus strain 529 was confirmed by antimicrobial susceptibility testing and population analysis profiling (PAP), with the resistance of subclonal 529_HR based on MIC being 8-fold that of the original bacteria. A 7-day serial MIC evaluation and growth curves demonstrate that their phenotype was stable, with 529_HR growing more slowly than 529, but reaching a plateau in

SUBMITTER: Li M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11901101 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature