Characterization of KPC-type drug resistance in bacteria

Abstract

One of the main problems of modern medicine is the phenomenon of drug resistance. Inappropriate use of antibiotics is considered to be the most important reason for the emergence of new resistance mechanisms in microorganisms. Carbapenems, which belong to the β-lactams, are considered the most effective group of antimicrobial agents. Unfortunately, as a result of prolonged exposure to the aforementioned drugs, bacteria have developed several mechanisms for survival. The most important of these is the production of hydrolytic enzymes (carbapenemases), which cleave the β-lactam ring and inactivate the antibiotics. The mentioned enzymes are encoded by blaKPC genes, which are located in so-called mobile genetic elements (i.e. plasmids and transposons). Such localization is associated with their ease of transfer between different bacterial species in the process of horizontal gene transfer.