Involvement of the Eukaryote-Like Kinase-Phosphatase System and a Protein That Interacts with Penicillin-Binding Protein 5 in Emergence of Cephalosporin Resistance in Cephalosporin-Sensitive Class A Penicillin-Binding Protein Mutants in Enterococcus faecium

The intrinsic resistance of Enterococcus faecium to ceftriaxone and cefepime (here referred to as “cephalosporins”) is reliant on the presence of class A penicillin-binding proteins (Pbps) PbpF and PonA. Mutants lacking these Pbps exhibit cephalosporin susceptibility that is reversible by exposure to penicillin and by selection on cephalosporin-containing medium. We selected two cephalosporin-resistant mutants (Cro1 and Cro2) of class A Pbp-deficient E. faecium CV598. Genome analysis revealed changes in the serine-threonine kinase Stk in Cro1 and a truncation in the associated phosphatase StpA in Cro2 whose respective involvements in resistance were confirmed in separate complementation experiments. In an additional effort to identify proteins linked to cephalosporin resistance, we performed tandem affinity purification using Pbp5 as bait in penicillin-exposed E. faecium; these experiments yielded a protein designated Pbp5-associated protein (P(5)AP). Transcription of the P(5)AP gene was increased after exposure to penicillin in wild-type strains and in Cro2 and suppressed in Cro2 complemented with the wild-type stpA. Transformation of class A Pbp-deficient strains with the plasmid-carried P(5)AP gene conferred cephalosporin resistance. These data suggest that Pbp5-associated cephalosporin resistance in E. faecium devoid of typical class A Pbps is related to the presence of P(5)AP, whose expression is influenced by the activity of the serine-threonine phosphatase/kinase system.