Vancomycin Resistance in Gram-Positive Cocci
Abstract
The first vancomycin-resistant clinical isolates of Enterococcus species were reported in Europe in 1988. Similar strains were later detected in hospitals on the East Coast of the United States. Since then, vancomycin-resistant enterococci have spread with unexpected rapidity and are now encountered in hospitals in most countries. This article reviews the mode of action and the mechanism of bacterial resistance to glycopeptides, as exemplified by the VanA type, which is mediated by transposon Tn1546 and is widely spread in enterococci. The diversity, regulation, evolution, and recent dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus are then discussed.
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vanZ appears to be involved in teicoplanin resistance but not vancomycin resistance, and its function is unknown.
“Finally, Tn1546 harbors another gene (designated vanZ) that appears to be involved in teicoplanin resistance (but not vancomycin) whose function is unknown (76).”
From Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance (2016) · cites this paper as [76]
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“Therefore, animal foods may be a source of transmission of pathogenic strains in production facilities to humans and the environment [34].”
Background
- Authors
- Courvalin, P.
- Affiliations
- Institut Pasteur (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Courvalin, Patrice
- Venue
- Clinical Infectious Diseases
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2006-01-01
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- Supplement_1
- Pages
- S25-S34
- ISSN
- 1058-4838 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-6591
- OpenAlex
- W2111502970
- Cited by
- 1,028
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 39 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 82 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 53 · 2017: 58 · 2016: 70 · 2015: 57 · 2014: 65 · 2013: 49 · 2012: 65
- FWCI
- 3.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Infectious Diseases (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Sanofi
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Antimicrobial Resistance in Staphylococcus
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Antibiotic Use and Resistance
- Keywords
- vancomycin resistance, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, Gram-positive cocci, glycopeptide resistance, vanA gene, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, antibiotic resistance mechanisms, resistance dissemination, nosocomial infections
- MeSH terms
- Anti-Bacterial Agents, Bacterial Proteins, Drug Resistance, Microbial, Glycopeptides, Ligases, Peptide Synthases, Peptidoglycan, Staphylococcus aureus, Vancomycin, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Enterococcus, Carbon-Oxygen Ligases, Vancomycin Resistance
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