Browsing by Author "Díaz, Lorena"
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Item Contemporary Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcal Bacteremia: A Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study (VENOUS I)(2021) Contreras, Germán; Munita, José; Simar, Shelby; Luterbach, Courtney; Dinh, An Q.; Rydell, Kirsten; Sahasrabhojane, Pranoti; Rios, Rafael; Díaz, Lorena; Reyes, Katherine; Zervos, Marcus; Misikir, Helina; Sánchez, Gabriela; Liu, Catherine; Doi, Yohei; Abbo, Lilian; Shimose, Luis; Seifert, Harald; Gudiol, Carlota; Barberis, Fernanda; Pedroza, Claudia; Aitken, Samuel; Shelburne, Samuel; Duin, David; Tran, Truc; Hanson, Blake; Arias, CesarBackground: Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are major therapeutic challenges. Prospective contemporary data characterizing the clinical and molecular epidemiology of VRE bloodstream infections (BSIs) are lacking. Methods: The Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcal BSI Outcomes Study (VENOUS I) is a prospective observational cohort of adult patients with enterococcal BSI in 11 US hospitals. We included patients with Enterococcus faecalis or Enterococcus faecium BSI with ≥1 follow-up blood culture(s) within 7 days and availability of isolate(s) for further characterization. The primary study outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were mortality at days 4, 7, 10, 12, and 15 after index blood culture. A desirability of outcome ranking was constructed to assess the association of vancomycin resistance with outcomes. All index isolates were subjected to whole genome sequencing. Results: Forty-two of 232 (18%) patients died in hospital and 39 (17%) exhibited microbiological failure (lack of clearance in the first 4 days). Neutropenia (hazard ratio [HR], 3.13), microbiological failure (HR, 2.4), VRE BSI (HR, 2.13), use of urinary catheter (HR, 1.85), and Pitt BSI score ≥2 (HR, 1.83) were significant predictors of in-hospital mortality. Microbiological failure was the strongest predictor of in-hospital mortality in patients with E faecium bacteremia (HR, 5.03). The impact of vancomycin resistance on mortality in our cohort changed throughout the course of hospitalization. Enterococcus faecalis sequence type 6 was a predominant multidrug-resistant lineage, whereas a heterogeneous genomic population of E faecium was identified. Conclusions: Failure of early eradication of VRE from the bloodstream is a major factor associated with poor outcomes.Item Detection of heterogeneous vancomycin intermediate resistance in MRSA isolates from Latin America(2020-06) Castro, Betsy E.; Berrio, Maritza; Vargas, Mónica L.; Carvajal, Lina P.; Millan, Lina V.; Rios, Rafael; Hernández, Angie K.; Rincon, Sandra; Cubides, Paola; Forero, Erika; Dinh, An; Seas, Carlos; Munita, José; Arias, Cesar A.; Reyes, Jinnethe; Díaz, LorenaBackground: Vancomycin is a common first-line option for MRSA infections. The heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) phenotype is associated with therapeutic failure. However, hVISAisolates are usually reported as vancomycin susceptible by routine susceptibility testing procedures. Objectives: To detect and characterize the hVISA phenotype in MRSA isolates causing infections in nine LatinAmerican countries. Methods: We evaluated a total of 1189 vancomycin-susceptible MRSA isolates recovered during 2006–08 and2011–14. After an initial screening of hVISA using glycopeptide-supplemented agar strategies, the detection ofhVISA was performed by Etest (GRD) and Macro-method (MET). Isolates deemed to be hVISA were subjectedto population analysis profile/AUC (PAP/AUC) and WGS for further characterization. Finally, we interrogatedalterations in predicted proteins associated with the development of the VISA phenotype in both hVISA andvancomycin-susceptible S. aureus (VSSA) genomes. Results: A total of 39 MRSA isolates (3.3%) were classified as hVISA (1.4% and 5.6% in MRSA recovered from2006–08 and 2011–14, respectively). Most of the hVISA strains (95%) belonged to clonal complex (CC) 5. Only6/39 hVISA isolates were categorized as hVISA by PAP/AUC, with 6 other isolates close (0.87–0.89) to the cut-off(0.9). The majority of the 39 hVISA isolates exhibited the Leu-14!Ile (90%) and VraT Glu-156!Gly (90%) aminoacid substitutions in WalK. Additionally, we identified 10 substitutions present only in hVISA isolates, involvingWalK, VraS, RpoB and RpoC proteins. Conclusions: The hVISA phenotype exhibits low frequency in Latin America. Aminoacid substitutions in proteinsinvolved in cell envelope homeostasis and RNA synthesis were commonly identified. Our results suggest thatEtest-based methods are an important alternative for the detection of hVISA clinical isolatesPublication Dynamics of the MRSA Population in a Chilean Hospital: a Phylogenomic Analysis (2000-2016)(2023) Martínez, José; Planet, Paul; Spencer, Maria; Rivas, Lina; Díaz, Lorena; Moustafa, Ahmed; Riquelme, Roberto; Alcalde, Manuel; Hanson, Blake; Carvajal, Lina; Rincón, Sandra; Reyes, Jinnethe; Lam, Marusella; Calderon, Juan; Araos, Rafael; García, Patricia; Arias, César; Munita, Jose M.The global dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with the emergence and establishment of clones in specific geographic areas. The Chilean-Cordobes clone (ChC) (ST5-SCCmecI) has been the predominant MRSA clone in Chile since its first description in 1998, despite the report of other emerging MRSA clones in recent years. Here, we characterize the evolutionary history of MRSA from 2000 to 2016 in a Chilean tertiary health care center using phylogenomic analyses. We sequenced 469 MRSA isolates collected between 2000 and 2016. We evaluated the temporal trends of the circulating clones and performed a phylogenomic reconstruction to characterize the clonal dynamics. We found a significant increase in the diversity and richness of sequence types (STs; Spearman r = 0.8748, P < 0.0001) with a Shannon diversity index increasing from 0.221 in the year 2000 to 1.33 in 2016, and an effective diversity (Hill number; q = 2) increasing from 1.12 to 2.71. The temporal trend analysis revealed that in the period 2000 to 2003 most of the isolates (94.2%; n = 98) belonged to the ChC clone. However, since then, the frequency of the ChC clone has decreased over time, accounting for 52% of the collection in the 2013 to 2016 period. This decline was accompanied by the rise of two emerging MRSA lineages, ST105-SCCmecII and ST72-SCCmecVI. In conclusion, the ChC clone remains the most frequent MRSA lineage, but this lineage is gradually being replaced by several emerging clones, the most important of which is clone ST105-SCCmecII. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest study of MRSA clonal dynamics performed in South America. IMPORTANCE Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major public health pathogen that disseminates through the emergence of successful dominant clones in specific geographic regions. Knowledge of the dissemination and molecular epidemiology of MRSA in Latin America is scarce and is largely based on small studies or more limited typing techniques that lack the resolution to represent an accurate description of the genomic landscape. We used whole-genome sequencing to study 469 MRSA isolates collected between 2000 and 2016 in Chile providing the largest and most detailed study of clonal dynamics of MRSA in South America to date. We found a significant increase in the diversity of MRSA clones circulating over the 17-year study period. Additionally, we describe the emergence of two novel clones (ST105-SCCmecII and ST72-SCCmecVI), which have been gradually increasing in frequency over time. Our results drastically improve our understanding of the dissemination and update our knowledge about MRSA in Latin America.Item Genomic Epidemiology of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) in Latin America: Revisiting The Global VRE Population Structure(2020) Rios, Rafael; Reyes, Jinnethe; Carvajal, Lina P.; Rincon, Sandra; Panesso, Diana; Echeverri, Aura M.; Dinh, An; Kolokotronis, Sergios-Orestis; Narechania, Apurva; Tran, Truc T.; Munita, José; Murray, Bárbara E.; Planet, Paul J.; Arias, Cesar A.; Díaz, LorenaLittle is known about the population structure of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) in Latin America (LATAM). Here, we provide a complete genomic characterization of 55 representative Latin American VREfm recovered from 1998–2015 in 5 countries. The LATAM VREfm population is structured into two main clinical clades without geographical clustering. Using the LATAM genomes, we reconstructed the global population of VREfm by including 285 genomes from 36 countries spanning from 1946 to 2017. In contrast to previous studies, our results show an early branching of animal related isolates and a further split of clinical isolates into two sub-clades within clade A. The overall phylogenomic structure of clade A was highly dependent on recombination (54% of the genome) and the split between clades A and B was estimated to have occurred more than 2,765 years ago. Furthermore, our molecular clock calculations suggest the branching of animal isolates and clinical clades occurred ~502 years ago whereas the split within the clinical clade occurred ~302 years ago (previous studies showed a more recent split between clinical an animal branches around ~74 years ago). By including isolates from Latin America, we present novel insights into the population structure of VREfm and revisit the evolution of these pathogens.Item Influence of Inoculum Effect on the Efficacy of Daptomycin Monotherapy and in Combination with -Lactams against Daptomycin-Susceptible Enterococcus faecium Harboring LiaSR Substitutions(2018) Kebriaei, Razieh; Rice, Seth A.; Singh, Kavindra V.; Stamper, Kyle C.; Dinh, An Q.; Rios, Rafael; Díaz, Lorena; Murray, Bárbara E.; Munita, José; Tran, Truc T.; Arias, Cesar A.; Rybak, Michael J.Enterococcus faecium isolates that harbor LiaFSR substitutions but are phenotypically susceptible to daptomycin (DAP) by current breakpoints are problem- atic, since predisposition to resistance may lead to therapeutic failure. Using a simu- lated endocardial vegetation (SEV) pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model, we investigated DAP regimens (6, 8, and 10 mg/kg of body weight/day) as mono- therapy and in combination with ampicillin (AMP), ceftaroline (CPT), or ertapenem (ERT) against E. faecium HOU503, a DAP-susceptible strain that harbors common LiaS and LiaR substitutions found in clinical isolates (T120S and W73C, respectively). Of interest, the efficacy of DAP monotherapy, at any dose regimen, was dependent on the size of the inoculum. At an inoculum of 109 CFU/g, DAP doses of 6 to 8 mg/ kg/day were not effective and led to significant regrowth with emergence of resis- tant derivatives. In contrast, at an inoculum of 107 CFU/g, marked reductions in bacterial counts were observed with DAP at 6 mg/kg/day, with no resistance. The in- oculum effect was confirmed in a rat model using humanized DAP exposures. Com- binations of DAP with AMP, CPT, or ERT demonstrated enhanced eradication and re- duced potential for resistance, allowing de-escalation of the DAP dose. Persistence of the LiaRS substitutions was identified in DAP-resistant isolates recovered from the SEV model and in DAP-resistant derivatives of an initially DAP-susceptible clinical isolate of E. faecium (HOU668) harboring LiaSR substitutions that was recovered from a patient with a recurrent bloodstream infection. Our results provide novel data for the use of DAP monotherapy and combinations for recalcitrant E. faecium infections and pave the way for testing these approaches in humans.Publication Molecular mechanisms leading to ceftolozane/tazobactam resistance in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from five Latin American countries(2022) Cadena, Elsa de la; Mojica, María F.; Ríos, Rafael; García-Betancur, Juan Carlos; Díaz, Lorena; Reyes, Jinnethe; Hernández-Gómez, Cristhian; Radice, Marcela; Gales, Ana C.; Castañeda Méndez, Paulo; Munita, José; Pallares, Cristian José; Martínez Solís, José Rodrigo Waldemar; Villegas, María VirginiaObjectives: Identify molecular mechanisms responsible for the in vitro non-susceptibility to ceftolozane/tazobactam (TOL) in a group of 158 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from five Latin American countries collected before the introduction of TOL into the clinical practice. Methods: Clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa (n = 504) were collected between January 2016 and October 2017 from 20 hospitals located in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to TOL were determined by standard broth microdilution and interpreted according to CLSI breakpoints. Initially, production of carbapenemases in TOL non-susceptible isolates was assessed by Rapidec® followed by qPCR to detect bla KPC, bla NDM-1, bla VIM, and bla IMP. Illumina® WGS was performed for isolates in which non-susceptibility to TOL was not mediated by carbapenemases. Results: A total of 158 (31.3%) isolates were non-susceptible to TOL. In 74 (46.8%) of these isolates, non-susceptibility to TOL was explained by the production of at least one carbapenemase. WGS revealed that some isolates carried ESBLs, mutated bla PDC and ampD, associated with decreased susceptibility to TOL. Conclusion: Substitutions found in PDC and carbapenemase production were the most common presumed mechanisms of resistance to TOL detected in this study. This study shows that epidemiological surveillance is warranted to monitor the emergence of novel mechanisms of resistance to TOL that might compromise its clinical utility.Publication Multiomics characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates with heterogeneous intermediate resistance to vancomycin (hVISA) in Latin America(2023) Castro, Betsy E.; Ríos, Rafael; Carvajal, Lina P.; Vargas, Mónica L.; Cala, Mónica P.; León, Lizeth; Hanson, Blake; Dinh, An Q.; Ortega-Recalde, Oscar; Seas, Carlos; Munita, José; Arias, Cesar A.; Rincón, Sandra; Reyes, Jinnethe; Díaz, LorenaBackground: Heterogeneous vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) compromise the clinical efficacy of vancomycin. The hVISA isolates spontaneously produce vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) cells generated by diverse and intriguing mechanisms. Objective: To characterize the biomolecular profile of clinical hVISA applying genomic, transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches. Methods: 39 hVISA and 305 VSSA and their genomes were included. Core genome-based Bayesian phylogenetic reconstructions were built and alterations in predicted proteins in VISA/hVISA were interrogated. Linear discriminant analysis and a Genome-Wide Association Study were performed. Differentially expressed genes were identified in hVISA-VSSA by RNA-sequencing. The undirected profiles of metabolites were determined by liquid chromatography and hydrophilic interaction in six CC5-MRSA. Results: Genomic relatedness of MRSA associated to hVISA phenotype was not detected. The change Try38 →His in Atl (autolysin) was identified in 92% of the hVISA. We identified SNPs and k-mers associated to hVISA in 11 coding regions with predicted functions in virulence, transport systems, carbohydrate metabolism and tRNA synthesis. Further, capABCDE, sdrD, esaA, esaD, essA and ssaA genes were overexpressed in hVISA, while lacABCDEFG genes were downregulated. Additionally, valine, threonine, leucine tyrosine, FAD and NADH were more abundant in VSSA, while arginine, glycine and betaine were more abundant in hVISA. Finally, we observed altered metabolic pathways in hVISA, including purine and pyrimidine pathway, CoA biosynthesis, amino acid metabolism and aminoacyl tRNA biosynthesis. Conclusions: Our results show that the mechanism of hVISA involves major changes in regulatory systems, expression of virulence factors and reduction in glycolysis via TCA cycle. This work contributes to the understanding of the development of this complex resistance mechanism in regional strains.