Antimicrobial resistance is a public health threat and the increasing number of multidrug-resistant bacteria is a major concern worldwide. Common antibiotics are becoming ineffective for skin infections and wounds, making the search for new therapeutic options increasingly urgent. The present study aimed to investigate the antibacterial potential of prenylated phenolics in wound healing. Phenolic compounds isolated from the root bark of Morus alba L. were investigated for their antistaphylococcal potential both alone and in combination with commonly used antibiotics. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined by microdilution and agar method. Synergy was investigated using the checkerboard titration technique. Membrane-disrupting activity and efflux pump inhibition were evaluated to describe the potentiating effect. Prenylated phenolics inhibited bacterial growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at lower concentrations (MIC 2-8 μg/ml) than commonly used antibiotics. The combination of active phenolics with kanamycin, oxacillin, and ciprofloxacin resulted in a decrease in the MIC of the antimicrobial agent. Kuwanon C, E, T, morusin, and albafuran C showed synergy (FICi 0.375-0.5) with oxacillin and/or kanamycin. Prenylated phenolics disrupted membrane permeability statistically significantly (from 28 ± 16.48% up to 73 ± 2.83%), and membrane disruption contributes to the complex antibacterial activity against MRSA. In addition, kuwanon C could be considered an efflux pump inhibitor. Despite the antibacterial effect on MRSA and the multiple biological activities, the prenylated phenolics at microbially significant concentrations have a minor effect on human keratinocyte (HaCaT) viability. In conclusion, prenylated phenolics in combination with commonly used antibiotics are promising candidates for the treatment of MRSA infections and wound healing, although further studies are needed.

• Keywords
• MRSA, antibacterial activity, antimicrobial resistance, kuwanon C, mulberry, prenylated phenolics, synergy, wound healing,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major causes of bloodstream infections. The aim of our study was to characterize methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from blood of patients hospitalized in the Czech Republic between 2016 and 2018. All MRSA strains were tested for antibiotic susceptibility, analyzed by spa typing and clustered using a Based Upon Repeat Pattern (BURP) algorithm. The representative isolates of the four most common spa types and representative isolates of all spa clonal complexes were further typed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing. The majority of MRSA strains were resistant to ciprofloxacin (94%), erythromycin (95.5%) and clindamycin (95.6%). Among the 618 strains analyzed, 52 different spa types were detected. BURP analysis divided them into six different clusters. The most common spa types were t003, t586, t014 and t002, all belonging to the CC5 (clonal complex). CC5 was the most abundant MLST CC of our study, comprising of 91.7% (n = 565) of spa-typeable isolates. Other CCs present in our study were CC398, CC22, CC8, CC45 and CC97. To our knowledge, this is the biggest nationwide study aimed at typing MRSA blood isolates from the Czech Republic.

• Keywords
• MLST, MRSA, SCCmec typing, Staphylococcus aureus, clonal analysis, epidemiology, spa typing,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

The aim of this study was to trace the dynamic changes of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) lineages in the local hospital in both the national and international context. We describe genotypic and phenotypic characterization of 62 non-duplicate MRSA isolates collected during 2010-2016 at University Hospital in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. The isolates were characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), spa typing, and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing (SCCmec typing). Eight different genotypes were described; ST225-t003-II (32/62, 52%), ST5-t002-II (13/62, 22%), and ST225-t014-II (12/62, 21%) were constantly detected over the 7-year follow-up period. The genotypes ST225-t151-II, ST225-t1282-II, ST225-t1623-II, ST78-t2832-II, and ST225-t8799-II occurred only once in the period reported. The majority of the strains, represented by ST225, belonged to clonal complex 5 (CC5).

• MeSH
• Anti-Bacterial Agents pharmacology   MeSH
• Bacteremia epidemiology   microbiology   MeSH
• Child MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Phenotype MeSH
• Genotype MeSH
• Infant MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus classification   drug effects   isolation & purification   MeSH
• Microbial Sensitivity Tests MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Multilocus Sequence Typing MeSH
• Hospitals, University MeSH
• Child, Preschool MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Staphylococcal Infections epidemiology   MeSH
• Bacterial Typing Techniques MeSH
• Check Tag
• Child MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Infant MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Child, Preschool MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic epidemiology   MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Anti-Bacterial Agents MeSH

BACKGROUND: Cases of colonization or infection caused by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are frequently reported in people who work with animals, including veterinary personnel. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of MRSA colonization among veterinary professionals. A total of 134 nasal swabs from healthy attendees of a veterinary conference held in the Czech Republic were tested for presence of MRSA. The stains were further genotypically and phenotypically characterized. RESULTS: Nine isolated MRSA strains were characterized with sequence type (ST), spa type (t) and Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec type. Five different genotypes were described, including ST398-t011-IV (n = 5), ST398-t2330-IV (n = 1), ST398-t034-V (n = 1), ST225-t003-II (n = 1) and ST4894-t011-IV (n = 1). The carriage of the animal MRSA strain was confirmed in 8 cases, characteristics of one strain corresponded to the possible nosocomial origin. Among animal strains were described three spa types (t011, t034, t2330) belonging into one dominating clonal complex spa-CC11. CONCLUSION: According to our results, the prevalence of nasal carriage of MRSA in veterinary personnel is 6.72%. Although we described an increase compared to the results of previous study (year 2008), the prevalence in the Czech Republic is still remaining lower than reported from neighboring countries. Our results also indicate that healthcare - associated MRSA strains are still not spread among animals.

• Keywords
• Carriage, Companion animals, Czech Republic, Livestock, Livestock-associated MRSA, Veterinarians,
• MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Genotype MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus classification   genetics   isolation & purification   MeSH
• Nose microbiology   MeSH
• Occupational Exposure MeSH
• Carrier State epidemiology   microbiology   MeSH
• Prevalence MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Staphylococcal Infections epidemiology   MeSH
• Students MeSH
• Education, Veterinary MeSH
• Veterinarians * MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic epidemiology   MeSH

High occurrence of the non-macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance genes msrA (53%) and linA/linA' (30%) was found among 98 methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci additionally resistant to macrolides and/or lincosamides. The gene msrA predominated in Staphylococcus haemolyticus (43 of 62 isolates). In Staphylococcus epidermidis, it was present in 7 of 27 isolates. A novel mechanism of resistance to lincosamides appears to be present in 10 genetically related isolates of S. haemolyticus in the absence of ermA, ermC, msrA, and linA/linA'.

• MeSH
• Anti-Bacterial Agents pharmacology   MeSH
• Drug Resistance, Bacterial * genetics   MeSH
• Bacterial Proteins genetics   MeSH
• Incidence MeSH
• Coagulase metabolism   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Lincosamides MeSH
• Macrolides pharmacology   MeSH
• Membrane Transport Proteins genetics   MeSH
• Microbial Sensitivity Tests MeSH
• Methicillin Resistance * MeSH
• Staphylococcus classification   drug effects   enzymology   genetics   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic epidemiology   MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Anti-Bacterial Agents MeSH
• Bacterial Proteins MeSH
• Coagulase MeSH
• Lincosamides MeSH
• Macrolides MeSH
• Membrane Transport Proteins MeSH
• msrA protein, Staphylococcus epidermidis MeSH Browser

Bacterial species of the genus Staphylococcus known as important human and animal pathogens are the cause of a number of severe infectious diseases. Apart from the major pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, other species until recently considered to be nonpathogenic may also be involved in serious infections. Rapid and accurate identification of the disease-causing agent is therefore prerequisite for disease control and epidemiological surveillance. Modern methods for identification and typing of bacterial species are based on genome analysis and have many advantages compared to phenotypic methods. The genotypic methods currently used in molecular diagnostics of staphylococcal species, particularly of S. aureus, are reviewed. Attention is also paid to new molecular methods with the highest discriminatory power. Efforts made to achieve interlaboratory reproducibility of diagnostic methods are presented.

• MeSH
• Genotype MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Polymerase Chain Reaction MeSH
• Methicillin Resistance MeSH
• Sequence Analysis, DNA MeSH
• Staphylococcus classification   genetics   isolation & purification   MeSH
• Bacterial Typing Techniques MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH