650. LiaX as a Surrogate Marker of Daptomycin Susceptibility in Multidrug-Resistant Enterococcus faecium

Abstract

Abstract Background Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) are important causes of bloodstream infections (BSI) in patients (pts) with cancer, liver disease, and foreign bodies. Daptomycin (DAP) is commonly used to treat VRE BSI, but DAP resistance (DAP-R) is increasing. Current methods to determine DAP minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) have poor reproducibility. DAP triggers the LiaFSR cell membrane stress response pathway, resulting in the extracellular release of LiaX, a protein that functions as a sentinel molecule for DAP, and controls the cell membrane response. Methods We used 6 reference Efm isolates to optimize a whole-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method for LiaX detection. We then assessed 86 clinical Efm BSI isolates recovered from 3 hospitals in Houston and Detroit for DAP MICs and used whole genome sequencing to assess for substitutions in LiaFSR/LiaXYZ proteins. We collected patient and microbiological data by chart review. Results All DAP-R reference strains had increased detection of LiaX compared to DAP-S strains (p< 0.0001). Of the 86 pts with Efm BSI, 73.2% had malignancy, 9.3% had liver disease, and 76.7% had foreign bodies. The source of 52.3% of BSIs was determined to be gastrointestinal. Two of the 86 isolates were DAP-R by CLSI breakpoints. The LiaX test and DAP MICs had a categorical agreement in 62.8% of isolates. All isolates with discordant ELISA/MIC results had DAP-S MIC (median 2, IQR 1-3)but increased LiaX. Using the genomic information, we identified 41 sites of amino acid (AA) changes in the LiaFSR/XYZ proteins of the ELISA/MIC discordant isolates. The substitutions LiaR S19F and LiaS E153K/D251E were associated with discordancy (p=0.0036 and p=0.0018, respectively). Conclusion Detection of LiaX is likely to indicate activation of the DAP-mediated cell membrane response in Efm and may be an indicator of DAP-R. Important discrepancies between LiaX and standard DAP MIC determination were found, highlighting the limitation of MIC determination. Further characterization of the discrepant isolates by time-kill assays and evaluation of patient clinical outcomes are warranted to fully validate the performance and clinical utility of the LiaX ELISA. Disclosures Truc T. Tran, PharmD, Merck (Grant/Research Support) Cesar A. Arias, M.D., MSc, Ph.D., FIDSA, Entasis Therapeutics (Grant/Research Support)MeMed Diagnostics (Grant/Research Support)Merk (Grant/Research Support)