Open AccessPlasmid-mediated quinolone resistance – current knowledge and future perspectives
Author(s) -
Xizhou Guan,
Xinying Xue,
Yuxia Liu,
Jing Wang,
Yong Wang,
Jianxin Wang,
Kaifei Wang,
Jiang Hong,
Lina Zhang,
Bing Yang,
N Wang,
Lei Pan
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of international medical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1473-2300
pISSN - 0300-0605
DOI - 10.1177/0300060513475965
Subject(s) - quinolone , efflux , plasmid , microbiology and biotechnology , antimicrobial , antibiotic resistance , multiple drug resistance , drug resistance , antibiotics , gene , medicine , biology , genetics
Quinolones are a group of antimicrobial agents that were serendipitously discovered as byproducts of the synthesis of chloroquine. Chemical modifications, such as the addition of fluorine or piperazine, resulted in the synthesis of third- and fourth-generation fluoroquinolones, with broad-spectrum antimicrobial actions against aerobic or anaerobic, Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. The efficacy and consequent widespread use of quinolones and fluoroquinolones has led to a steady global increase in resistance, mediated via gene mutations, alterations in efflux or cell membranes and plasmid-conferred resistance. The first plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance gene, qnrA1, was detected in 1998. Since then, many other genes have been identified and the underlying mechanisms of resistance have been elucidated. This review provides an overview of quinolone resistance, with particular emphasis on plasmid-mediated resistance.