Abstract
Achromobacter spp. are recognized as emerging pathogens in hospitalized as well as in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. From 2012 to 2015, we collected 69 clinical isolates (41 patient) of Achromobacter spp. from 13 patients with CF (CF isolates, n = 32) and 28 patients receiving care for other health conditions (non-CF isolates, n = 37). Molecular epidemiology and virulence potential of isolates were examined. Antimicrobial susceptibility, motility, ability to form biofilms and binding affinity to mucin, collagen, and fibronectin were tested to assess their virulence traits. The nrdA gene sequencing showed that A. xylosoxidans was the most prevalent species in both CF and non-CF patients. CF patients were also colonized with A. dolens/A. ruhlandii, A. insuavis, and A. spiritinus strains while non-CF group was somewhat less heterogenous, although A. insuavis, A. insolitus, and A. piechaudii strains were detected beside A. xylosoxidans. Three strains displayed clonal distribution, one among patients from the CF group and two among non-CF patients. No significant differences in susceptibility to antimicrobials were observed between CF and non-CF patients. About one third of the isolates were classified as strong biofilm producers, and the proportion of CF and non-CF isolates with the ability to form biofilm was almost identical. CF isolates were less motile compared to the non-CF group and no correlation was found between swimming phenotype and biofilm formation. On the other hand, CF isolates exhibited higher affinity to bind mucin, collagen, and fibronectin. In generall, CF isolates from our study exhibited in vitro properties that could be of importance for the colonization of CF patients.
Highlights
Achromobacter spp. are recognized as emerging pathogens that can cause infections in patients with impaired immune system and are well-known nosocomial pathogens, especially in the intensive care units (ICUs)
Species-level identification performed by the nrdA gene sequencing showed that A. xylosoxidans was the most prevalent species (60/69, 87.0%)
Achromobacter species other than A. xylosoxidans were identified as A. dolens/ A. ruhlandii (5657B, 5657C, MS4, and MS9 cystic fibrosis (CF) isolates, 4/69, 5.8%, these species were undistinguishable with used the nrdA gene sequences), A. insuavis (1874 CF and 6651 non-CF isolate, 2/69, 2.9%), A. spiritinus (10448 CF isolate, 1/69, 1.4%), A. insolitus (A5 non-CF isolate, 1/69, 1.4%) and A. piechaudii (7491 non-CF isolate, 1/69, 1.4%) (Figure 1)
Summary
Achromobacter spp. are recognized as emerging pathogens that can cause infections in patients with impaired immune system and are well-known nosocomial pathogens, especially in the intensive care units (ICUs). Achromobacter spp. have been increasingly isolated from respiratory secretions of individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF), in which genetic disorder causes accumulation of thick sticky mucus, mostly in the lungs, leading to frequent bacterial pulmonary infections (Ronne Hansen et al, 2006; Amoureux et al, 2013). A. xylosoxidans is the predominantly isolated Achromobacter species from the CF clinical samples. The frequency of A. xylosoxidans isolation in some European centers is relatively high, e.g., 16% in an Italian CF center (Trancassini et al, 2014) and 17.5% in a CF center in France (Amoureux et al, 2013)
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