Molecular effects of silver nanoparticles on virulence factors in Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from diyala province, Iraq

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an encapsulated gram-negative organism that can cause infections at multiple sites, including the lungs, urinary tract, bloodstream, and brain, as well as in wounds and at surgical sites. K. pneumoniae has emerged as a major pathogen of international concern owing to the increasing incidences of carbapenem-resistant strains.This study aimed to identify and isolate Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria from different clinical samples, investigate the effect of silver nanoparticles on the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumonia, and explore the molecular effects of silver nanoparticles on the expression level of virulence genes of the isolated Klebsiella pneumonia. In this cross-sectional study, a total of (150) clinical specimens including (40) urine, (50) blood and (60) sputum specimens were collected from patients suffering from pneumonia, bacteremia, urinary tract infections and respiratory tract infections who attended Baquba Teaching Hospital and Al-Batoul Teaching Hospital/ Diyala Province. All bacterial isolates of Klebsiella pneumonia were characterized with morphological, microscopical, biochemical tests and VITEK II system. Antibiotic susceptibility test was conducted on eight K. pneumoniae isolates before and after treatment with silver nanoparticles (AgNP) to assess the antibiotic resistance or sensitivity of this bacterium and to determine the impact of silver nanoparticles on the antibiotic efficacy against K. pneumoniae. The real time PCR was used to detect the gene sequencing and gel electrophoresis was used for DNA extraction.The results showed the higher urinary tract infection rate with K. pneumoniae was found in males 17 (56.6%) compared to females 13 (33.3%). Urinary tract infections with MDR K. pneumoniae were higher 20 (66.6%) than respiratory tract infections 33 (33.3%). The findings indicated that the isolates of K. pneumoniae exhibited sensitivity to Imipenem, Gentamicin, and Tetracycline after treatment with AgNP. Identifying K. pneumoniae genes rmpA, uge, wabG, wcaG and ycfM by PCR method showed improvement of these genes after AgNP treatment.It can be concluded from our study that treatment of K. pneumoniae with silver nanoparticles was shown to be effective, and the genes rmpA, uge, wabG, wcaG and ycfM detected by PCR method showed improvement after AgNP treatment..