Antibiotic Tolerance and Treatment Outcomes in Cystic Fibrosis Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections
Kuan‐Yi Lu, Nikki J. Wagner, Amanda Z. Velez, Agathe Ceppe, Brian P. Conlon, Marianne S. Muhlebach
Abstract
Chronic MRSA infections remain challenging to treat in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The ability of the bacterial population to survive high concentrations of bactericidal antibiotics, including vancomycin, despite lacking resistance is considered one of the main reasons for treatment failures. The connection between antibiotic tolerance and treatment outcomes remains unexplored and can be crucial for prognosis and regimen design toward eradication. In this study, we measured the capacity of 90 MRSA isolates from CF patients to form vancomycin-tolerant persister cells and evaluated their correlation with the clinical outcomes. Additionally, various traits that could reflect the metabolism and/or virulence of those MRSA isolates were systematically phenotyped and included for their predictive power. Our research highlights that despite the importance of antibiotic tolerance, additional factors need to be considered for predicting the clearance of MRSA.