Surveying on biofilm-related virulence factors inAcinetobacter baumannii: A cross-sectional study, and molecular typingof isolates using the REP-PCR method

Background and Aim : One of the significant properties of Acinetobacter baumannii, as a criticalpriority agent in healthcare-associated infections, is biofilm-producing. This ability led to thedevelopment of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms, subsequently failing treatment. This studyaimed to determine biofilm-related genes' distribution and investigate the genotype-relatedness ofisolates.Methods : A total of ۱۰۰ A. baumannii isolated from hospitalized patients in Nemazee hospital,in Shiraz, Iran, were subjected for biofilm-producing using the tissue culture plate (TCP) method.Continuously, eleven biofilm-producing related genes, comprising ompA, bap, csuE, epsA, blaper-۱, bfmS, pgaB, csgA, fimH, ptk, kpsMІІ were sought in all isolates using PCR. Finally, the REPPCRtechnique was used to investigate the genotype-relatedness of isolates.Results : Regarding the OD values of ELISA-Reader analysis, ۹۸% of isolates were biofilmproducers, yet ۳۰.۵% were known as biofilm-producing strong isolates. The most frequency ofbiofilm-producing related genes was observed for csuE and pgaB (۹۹%), bfmS (۹۸%), ompA(۹۷%). The REP-PCR analysis has discriminated the ۹۷ A. baumannii isolates into ۷ clusters andtwo singletons; three isolates were non-typeable.Conclusion : In conclusion, it seems the high frequency of biofilm-producing and related genesamong A. baumannii isolates is one of the most highlighted factors that result in the developmentof antimicrobial resistivity. Therefore, further investigation on how it is possible to either knockdown expression or diminish the transferring of these genes could be promising for reducingantimicrobial resistivity.

کلیدواژه ها:

Acinetobacter baumannii ، biofilm-producing ، healthcare-infection ، REP-PCR ، Virulence-factors