Abstract

Background: To investigate the distribution of virulence genes exoS and exoU of Pseudomonas aeruginosa type III secretion system and their antimicrobial resistance characteristics in Xinjiang Province.
Methods: A total of 228 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were collected from January 2017 to April 2017 in our hospital. The VITEK2-compac system was used for strain identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test. The disk diffusion method was used for antimicrobial susceptibility supplementation. PCR method was used for detection of exoS and exoU virulence gene.
Results: Among 228 isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 178 (78.07%) were positive for exoS gene, 91 (39.91%) were positive for exoU gene, and 21.49% of the isolates carried both genes (exoU+/exoS+). A total of 30 MDR strains were detected, accounting for 13.16%. The antimicrobial resistance of the exoU+ group was 76.67%, which was significantly higher than that of the exoU-group (23.33%). The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The detection rate of fluoroquinolone-insensitive strains in exoU+ group was as high as 57.45%, which was significantly higher than 42.55% in exoU-group and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The 30-day mortality rate of the exoU+ group was 8.79%, which was higher than that of the exoU-group (4.38%), and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: The expression of exoU gene is associated with multidrug resistance, fluoroquinolone resistance, and prognosis. We should enhance the detection of drug resistance and study the pathogenesis and regulation mecha-nism of T3SS, in order to provide new ideas for the design of reasonable treatment strategies and the development of new therapeutic drugs.

DOI: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2020.200815