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Infection and Immunity, July 2001, p. 4473-4478, Vol. 69, No. 7
Institute of Thrombosis and
Hemostasis1 and Unit of Infectious
Diseases,2 Sheba Medical Center, Tel
Hashomer, and Goldschleger Eye Research Institute, Tel Aviv
University, Tel Aviv,5 Israel;
Laboratory of Bacterial Pathogenesis and Immunology, The
Rockefeller University, New York, New York3;
and Central Laboratory of Saratov Medical University,
Saratov, Russia4
Received 22 January 2001/Returned for modification 2 March
2001/Accepted 9 April 2001
Global regulatory genes in Staphylococcus aureus,
including agr and sar, are known to regulate
the expression of multiple virulence factors, including cell wall
adhesins. In the present study, the adherence of S. aureus
RN6390 (wild type), RN6911 (agr), ALC136 (sar),
and ALC135 (agr sar) to immobilized fibrinogen, fibronectin, von Willebrand factor (vWF), extracellular matrix (ECM),
and human endothelial cells (EC) EAhy.926 was studied. Bacteria grown
to postexponential phase were subjected to light oscillation (static
condition) or to shear stress at 200 s
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.7.4473-4478.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Adherence Properties of Staphylococcus
aureus under Static and Flow Conditions: Roles of agr
and sar Loci, Platelets, and Plasma Ligands
1 (flow condition)
on tissue culture polystyrene plates coated with either protein
ligands, ECM, or EC. Adherence of nonlabeled bacteria to immobilized
ligands was measured by an image analysis system, while adherence of
[3H]thymidine-labeled S. aureus to ECM and EC
was measured by a
-scintillation counter. The results showed
increased adherence of agr and agr sar mutants
to immobilized fibrinogen and higher potential of these mutants to
induce platelet aggregation in suspension, decreased adherence of
sar and agr sar mutants to immobilized fibronectin and vWF as well as to ECM and EC, increased adherence of
both S. aureus wild type and sar mutant to EC
treated with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) compared to platelet-poor
plasma (PPP) and to EC treated with PPP compared to the control, and
increased adherence of S. aureus wild type to EC coated
with PRP in which platelets were activated with phorbol 12-myristate
13-acetate compared to intact PRP. This finding paralleled the
increased adherence to EC of activated compared to intact platelets. It is suggested that platelet-mediated S. aureus adherence to
EC depends on platelet activation and the number of adherent platelets and available receptors on the platelet membrane. In conclusion, the
agr locus downregulates S. aureus adherence to
fibrinogen, while the sar locus upregulates S. aureus adherence to fibronectin, vWF, ECM, and EC. The effect of
both agr and sar on S. aureus adherence properties develops primarily under flow conditions, which
suggests different adhesion mechanisms in static and flow conditions.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Unit of
Infectious Diseases, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621, Israel.
Phone: 972-3-5303500. Fax: 972-3-5347081. E-mail:
unit{at}netvision.net.il.
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