Analysis of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in an Intensive Care Unit of İbni-Sina Hospital

This study was designed in order to evaluate the relationship of MRSA isolates obtained from an intensive care unit (ICU) and other wards as well as the epidemiological features and typing methods. Two polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic methods of typing MRSA isolates-sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS- PAGE) and native-PAGE (N-PAGE) were evaluated and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns were determined. MRSA isolates were investigated according to the whole cell proteins (WCPs) and filtrate proteins (FPs). No report has been published yet explaining the characterization of staphylococci in SDS-PAGE by use of filtrate protein profiles. One clonal group was identified by SDS-PAGE and N-PAGE, and these two electrophoretic methods were found to be useful for the analysis of strains. Some of these isolates were also used in BelkumÕs study, the results of which state the presence of only one clone circulating in Turkish hospitals by molecular genotyping analysis. The results of this study done by both SDS-PAGE and N-PAGE have also shown the dissemination of the same clone circulating in Turkish hospitals to the intensive care unit of Übni Sina Hospital, which is in agreement with the results of Belkum, and causes one to consider the usage of these electrophoretic methods in typing systems.