Molecular characterization of serotypes and capsular virulence genes in cps gen group of Klebsiella pneumonia isolated from Tehran hospitals

Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the important clinical pathogens and responsible for some nosocomial infections; especially pneumonia, septicemia, and urinary tract infection (UTI). Study of the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of virulence factors associated with pathogenicity of K. pneumoniae clinical isolates is of great importance. The aim of the present study was the molecular identification of serotypes and capsular virulence genes in cps gene group of K. pneumonia isolates.
Material & This cross-sectional study was carried out on 50 K. pneumonia clinical isolates collected from patients admitted to the Payambaran and Baqiyatallah hospitals located in Tehran. Multiplex PCR was used for identification of K1, K2, K5, K54, K57 capsular types, and detection of rmpA and wcaG virulence factors from capsular polysaccharide genes group.
In this study, K54 (68%) was the most frequent capsular serotype, while K1 (8%) had the lowest frequency. The highest frequency of virulence gene rmpA was observed in capsular serotype K5 (60%), and the highest frequency of wcaG gene was observed in serotype K54 (17.64%).
Multiplex PCR method can be used as a rapid tool to characterize and type the bacterial isolates causing nosocomial infections.