Identification of Fimbrial Genes in Escherichia Coli Isolates from Urinary Tract Infections and their Antibiotic Resistance

Background & Objectives: Escherichia coli is the most common agent of urinary tract infections, with P fimbriae as the most important virulence factor. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli expresses various types of adhesive genes such as P fimbriae and pyelonephritis-associated pili (PAP), which mediate the binding to the surface of epithelial cells in the urinary tract. This study aimed to identify papG and papC genes and evaluate the antibiotic resistance of isolated Escherichia coli samples. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, ۱۰۰ urinary samples were collected from patients with urinary tract infections, referring to Kerman healthcare centers. After culturing in specific media, ۵۰ isolates were identified and confirmed, using biochemical tests. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed via disk diffusion method. The presence of papG and papC genes was analyzed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Results: The results showed that Escherichia coli isolates were sensitive to amikacin (۱۰۰%) and nitrofurantoin (۹۴%), while they showed resistance to ampicillin (۹۲%). Based on the findings, ۱۳ samples (۲۶%) contained papG genes. Also, ۲۰% of the samples had papG II, (۶%), papG III, and papC genes; however, papG was not detected in any of the samples. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that papG II and papC genes were the most common genes encoding fimbriae in Escherichia coli isolates from urinary tract infections. The discrepancy between the present findings and previous research may be due to the diversity of geographical regions where the samples were obtained.

Keywords:

Disk diffusion , Escherichia coli , Multiplex PCR , PAP , اشریشیاکلی , دیسک دیفیوژن , pap , PCR چندگانه‎ای