Cui Yingchao, Gao Jingfeng, Guo Yi, Li Ziqiao, Wang Zhiqi, Zhao Yifan
National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Faculty of Environment and Life, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China.
National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Faculty of Environment and Life, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 100124, China.
Environ Res. 2022 Dec;215(Pt 1):114263. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114263. Epub 2022 Sep 6.
Antimicrobial resistance has been considered as a great threat to biosecurity and human health. And the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by conjugated plasmid is a key factor in the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance. Paracetamol (PRC), one of nonopioid analgesics, is an extensively used antipyretic and mild analgesic worldwide available for numerous prescriptions. It was unclear whether PRC could promote the spread of ARGs. Here, it was demonstrated that PRC promoted intergenera conjugative plasmid transfer in an established conjugation model. Both donor and recipient strains treated by PRC emerged the variations of reactive oxygen species (ROS), SOS response and cell membrane permeability. Correspondingly, transcriptome analysis revealed that the gene expression involved in cell membrane permeability and SOS response was up-regulated significantly after PRC exposure. More directly, PRC also increased the expressions of conjugation related genes of trbG and trbP in donor. This study proved for the first time that PRC could enhance the intergenera conjugative plasmid transfer. Collectively, these findings manifested the potential threat associated with the existence of non-antibiotic substance PRC, which could provide an important insight into antimicrobial resistance spread.
抗菌耐药性被认为是对生物安全和人类健康的巨大威胁。而通过接合质粒传播抗生素抗性基因（ARGs）是抗菌耐药性流行的一个关键因素。对乙酰氨基酚（PRC）是非阿片类镇痛药之一，是一种在全球广泛用于众多处方的解热和轻度镇痛药。尚不清楚PRC是否会促进ARGs的传播。在此，研究表明PRC在已建立的接合模型中促进了属间接合质粒转移。经PRC处理的供体和受体菌株均出现了活性氧（ROS）、SOS反应和细胞膜通透性的变化。相应地，转录组分析显示，PRC暴露后，参与细胞膜通透性和SOS反应的基因表达显著上调。更直接的是，PRC还增加了供体中trbG和trbP等接合相关基因的表达。本研究首次证明PRC可增强属间接合质粒转移。总的来说，这些发现表明了非抗生素物质PRC的存在所带来的潜在威胁，这可为抗菌耐药性传播提供重要见解。
