Mechanisms and laboratory detection technologies of heteroresistance in Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract:

Heteroresistance is a special type of drug resistance of bacteria, which is often characterized by diffe-rent bacterial subpopulations from the same clone presenting inconsistent drug resistance to certain antimicrobial agents. Most subpopulations are sensitive to a certain type of antimicrobial agent, while a small number of the subpopulations are resistant or highly resistant to it. Heteroresistance isolates often lead to the failure of anti-infection treatment of specific antimicrobial agents. Studies on heteroresistant bacteria are mainly focused on Gram-negative bacteria, while reports on Gram-positive cocci are rare. In recent years, studies have reported the emergence of Staphylococcus aureus isolates with heteroresistance to vancomycin, linezolid, oxacillin and other types of antimicrobial drugs, but its practical clinical significance remains to be further evaluated. In this paper, the latest advances in the mechanisms and detection technologies of Staphylococcus aureus heteroresistance were reviewed to provide new ideas for the research of bacterial heteroresistance mechanism and the development of noval detection technologies.