Detection and characterization of VIM-31, a new variant of VIM-2 with Tyr224His and His252Arg mutations, in a clinical isolate of Enterobacter cloacae

Abstract

We report the first description of the metallo-β-lactamase VIM-31, a new variant of VIM-2 with Tyr224His and His252Arg mutations, in Enterobacter cloacae 11236, which was isolated from blood specimens of a patient with colonic adenocarcinoma in Belgium. blaVIM-31 was found on a class 1 integron located on a self-transferable but not typeable 42-kb plasmid. Compared to values published elsewhere for VIM-2, the purified VIM-31 enzyme showed weaker catalytic efficiency against all the tested beta-lactam agents (except for ertapenem), resulting from lower kcat (except for ertapenem) and higher Km values for VIM-31. Copyright © 2012, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.