Antimicrobial resistance is a global threat, with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) being one of the most representative drug-resistant pathogens. MRSA spread is increasing due to its ability to establish new reservoirs. To this end, the clonal complex (CC)-130 is an emerging genetic lineage, generally regarded as animal adapted and carrying the mecC gene, and sporadically found in humans. Although the MRSA antibiotic resistance mechanisms have been described, there are limited data on systems-wide omics responses to antibiotic stress, particularly at the proteome level. In this study, a gel-based quantitative proteomics approach was performed to assess the cellular responses of a mecC-harboring CC130 MRSA strain of human origin to subinhibitory doses of cefoxitin. We focused on the global response of MRSA to antibiotic stress and upon this treatment, 53 proteins were significantly differentially expressed. Most of the latter proteins were mapped to having functions in cellular metabolism while some glycolysis-related proteins showed a decreased expression after cefoxitin stress. On the contrary, pyruvate kinase, a potential antimicrobial drug target, was found upregulated. Also, quorum sensing, genetic information processing, and stress response proteins were found upregulated. Low-affinity penicillin-binding protein (mecC-encoded) was found in cefoxitin-treated samples. In conclusion, these new findings on cefoxitin-induced proteome changes provide important insights and molecular leads for innovation in treatment of MRSA specifically, and omics approaches to address antibiotic resistance generally.
Keywords: MRSA; antibiotic resistance; cefoxitin; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; proteomics; β-lactam antibiotics.