ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Exposure to subinhibitory concentrations (SICs) of antimicrobials may alter the bacterial transcriptome.
METHODS
: Here, we evaluated the expression of nine virulence-related genes in vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) urinary tract infection isolates grown at SICs of vancomycin.
RESULTS:
A Subinhibitory concentrations of vancomycin interferes with gene modulation, but does not affect the phenotype of a VRE strain in vitro .
CONCLUSIONS:
Subinhibitory concentrations of vancomycin may regulate the expression of virulence factors in vivo or contribute to the selection of vancomycin-resistant strains.
Keywords:
VRE; Biofilm; Expression