The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines for the detection of extended-spectrum -lactamases (ESBL) produced by Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, and Proteus mirabilis recommend the use of K. pneumoniae ATCC 700603 (an ESBL producer) as a quality control organism in tests to detect ESBL (1). A clinical isolate of Proteus mirabilis was studied t...

A combination of 3 g of ticarcillin and 200 mg of clavulanic acid was administered intravenously to six healthy male volunteers, after which the concentrations of these agents in serum and blister fluid were measured. The ratio of the two drugs in serum varied from 15:1 (ticarcillin-clavulanic acid) at the time of administration to 28:1 at 30 min and 62:1 at 5 h after injection. Both agents pen...

Screening by a double-disk synergy test identified a Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate that produced a clavulanic acid-inhibited expanded-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL). Cloning and sequencing identified a novel ESBL, BEL-1, weakly related to other Ambler class A ESBLs. beta-Lactamase BEL-1 hydrolyzed significantly most expanded-spectrum cephalosporins and aztreonam, and its activity was inhibited...

The 2-azetidinone ring of the Class A and D β-lactamase inhibitor clavulanic acid (1) is synthesized by the ATP-utilizing enzyme β-lactam synthetase (βLS). A hydroxyethyl group attached to C-6 of 1 in the (S) configuration markedly enhances the efficacy of this compound against Class C β-lactamases. Guided by a series of X-ray structures of βLS, we have engineered this enzyme to act upon a meth...

OBJECTIVES Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) and enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) are among the most frequent microorganisms causing traveller's diarrhoea. The aim of this study was to investigate the evolution of antimicrobial resistance in EAEC and ETEC causing diarrhoea in patients who had travelled to different developing countries, comparing two periods of time, 1994-97 and 2001-04. ...