Role of an energy-dependent efflux pump in plasmid pNE24-mediated resistance to 14- and 15-membered macrolides in Staphylococcus epidermidis.

We have elucidated a new mechanism for bacterial resistance to the 14-membered macrolides oleandomycin and erythromycin and the 15-membered macrolide azithromycin. Plasmid pNE24, previously isolated from a clinical specimen of Staphylococcus epidermidis, was characterized as causing resistance to 14-membered but not 16-membered macrolides by a mechanism suggested to involve reduced antibiotic permeation of bacterial cells (B. C. Lampson, W. von David, and J. T. Parisi, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 30:653-658, 1986). Our recent investigations have demonstrated that S. epidermidis 958-2 containing plasmid pNE24 also contains an energy-dependent macrolide efflux pump which maintains intracellular antibiotic concentrations below those required for binding to ribosomes. Thus, when strain 958-2 was pretreated with the inhibitor carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), macrolide accumulated at the same rate and to the same extent as in CCCP-treated or untreated control cells lacking plasmid pNE24 (strain 958-1). In contrast, macrolide did not accumulate in energy-competent strain 958-2 but did accumulate to levels equal to those of ribosomes immediately following CCCP addition. Furthermore, intracellular macrolide was excreted and bacteria resumed growth when CCCP but not macrolide was removed from the growth medium. As expected, the 16-membered macrolide niddamycin accumulated to the same level in energy-competent strains 958-1 and 958-2 at the same rapid rate. Macrolide incubated with lysates prepared from both strains or recovered from cells of strain 958-2 was unmodified and bound to ribosomes from strains 958-1 and 958-2 with identical affinities and kinetics, thus precluding a role for ribosome or drug alteration in the resistance mechanism. We conclude that the presence of plasmid pNE24 results in specific energy-dependent efflux of 14- and 15-membered macrolides.