Y. Tsurusako et al., The alteration of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) in drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from acute otitis media, ACT OTO-LAR, 1999, pp. 67-71
Streptococcus pneumoniae is the micro-organism most frequently isolated fro
m acute otitis media (AOM). Recently, drug-resistant or insensitive strains
have been prevalent among pneumococcal AOM cases and were reportedly assoc
iated with persistent or recurrent otitis media. The purpose of this study
was to examine the alterations of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) in Str
eptococcus pneumoniae isolated from AOM. The PBP samples from 21 clinically
isolated strains were examined by C-14-penicillin binding assay and also b
y adding CCL and CDTR as competitors of C-14-penicillin. Reduced signals in
PBP1A and PBP2X/2A were typically observed with the penicillin-resistant S
treptococcus pneumoniae samples, while widely different PBP profiles were o
btained in each strain of penicillin-insensitive Streptococcus pneumoniae.
The competitive binding assay with penicillin-insensitive strains revealed
the reduced affinity of CCL to PBPs in comparison with that of CDTR. The re
sults of the penicillin-binding assay were consistent with the results from
minimal inhibitory concentration analysis, and its potential usefulness fo
r the prediction of drug resistance was demonstrated.