Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is the most detrimental pathogen that causes hospital-acquired infections. Tigecycline (TIG) is currently used as a potent antibiotic for treating CRAB infections; however, its overuse substantially induces the development of resistant isolates. Some molecular aspects of the resistance mechanisms of AB to TIG have been reported, but they are expected to be far more complicated and diverse than what has been characterized thus far. In this study, we identified bacterial extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are nano-sized lipid-bilayered spherical structures, as mediators of TIG resistance. Using laboratory-made TIG-resistant AB (TIG-R AB), we demonstrated that TIG-R AB produced more EVs than control TIG-susceptible AB (TIG-S AB). Transfer analysis of TIG-R AB-derived EVs treated with proteinase or DNase to recipient TIG-S AB showed that TIG-R EV proteins are major factors in TIG resistance transfer. Additional transfer spectrum analysis demonstrated that EV-mediated TIG resistance was selectively transferred to Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Proteus mirabilis. However, this action was not observed in Klebsiella pneumonia and Staphylococcus aureus. Finally, we showed that EVs are more likely to induce TIG resistance than antibiotics. Our data provide direct evidence that EVs are potent cell-derived components with a high, selective occurrence of TIG resistance in neighboring bacterial cells.
Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii; antimicrobial resistance; bacterial infection; extracellular vesicles; tigecycline.