The impact of Grammosciadium platycarpum Boiss. & Hausskn. extract on oqxA efflux pump gene expression in antibiotic resistant clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae using real time PCR

Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most important causes of nosocomial infections, especially wound infection after surgery. One of the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in K. pneumoniae strains, especially ciprofloxacin, is the presence of efflux pump.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-efflux activity of Grammosciadium platycarpum Boiss. & Hausskn. extract on the expression of oqxA efflux pump in K. pneumoniae strains which were resistant to antibiotics.

In this experimental study, clinical specimens were collected from hospitals in Tehran and the K. pneumoniae strains were isolated. Subsequently, ciprofloxacin-resistant strains containing the oqxA efflux gene were detected using PCR. Finally, the gene expression of oqxA efflux pump in the strains treated with G. platycarpum extract was investigated using Real Time PCR.

In this study, 50 K. pneumoniae strains were isolated from clinical specimens and the results of antibiotic susceptibility showed that 70% (35 strains) of isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin and oqxA gene was observed in 43% (15 strains) of ciprofloxacin resistant K. pneumoniae strains. Moreover, Real Time PCR results showed that the expression of oqxA gene in the strains which are treated with extract, down-regulated significantly.

The results of this study showed that the G. platycarpum extract can inhibits the expression of the oqxA efflux pump in K. pneumoniae strains, and with further studies, the G. platycarpum extract can be used as a candidate for the drug design.