Cross-resistance between clofazimine and bedaquiline through upregulation of MmpL5 in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The antileprosy drug clofazimine is also of interest for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. To understand possible resistance mechanisms, clofazimine-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis mutants were isolated in vitro, and, unexpectedly, found to be cross-resistant to bedaquiline. Mutations in the transcriptional regulator Rv0678, with concomitant upregulation of the multisubstrate efflux pump, MmpL5, accounted for this cross-resistance. Mutation in Rv0678 should therefore be considered a confounding factor for the treatment of tuberculosis with clofazimine or bedaquiline.