scholarly journals Staphylococcus aureus Strains That Express Serotype 5 or Serotype 8 Capsular Polysaccharides Differ in Virulence

2005 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 3502-3511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Watts ◽  
Danbing Ke ◽  
Qun Wang ◽  
Anil Pillay ◽  
Anne Nicholson-Weller ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Most isolates of Staphylococcus aureus produce a serotype 5 (CP5) or 8 (CP8) capsular polysaccharide. To investigate whether CP5 and CP8 differ in their biological properties, we created isogenic mutants of S. aureus Reynolds that expressed CP5, CP8, or no capsule. Biochemical analyses of CP5 and CP8 purified from the isogenic S. aureus strains were consistent with published structures. The degree of O acetylation of each polysaccharide was similar, but CP5 showed a greater degree of N acetylation. Mice challenged with the CP5+ strain showed a significantly higher bacteremia level than mice challenged with the CP8+ strain. Similarly, the CP5+ strain survived preferentially in the bloodstream and kidneys of infected mice challenged with a mixed inoculum containing both strains. The enhanced virulence of the CP5+ strain in vivo correlated with its greater resistance to in vitro killing in whole mouse blood. Likewise, in vitro opsonophagocytic killing assays with human neutrophils and sera revealed greater survival of the Reynolds (CP5) strain, even though the kinetics of opsonization by C3b and iC3b was similar for both the CP5+ and CP8+ strains. Electron micrographs demonstrated C3 molecules on the cell wall beneath the capsule layer for both serotype 5 and 8 strains. Purified CP5 and CP8 stimulated a modest oxidative burst in human neutrophils but failed to activate the alternative complement pathway. These results indicate that CP5 and CP8 differ in a number of biological properties, and these differences likely contribute to the relative virulence of serotype 5 and 8 S. aureus in vivo.

2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marloes I. Hofstee ◽  
Martijn Riool ◽  
Igors Terjajevs ◽  
Keith Thompson ◽  
Martin J. Stoddart ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus is a prominent human pathogen in bone and soft-tissue infections. Pathophysiology involves abscess formation, which consists of central staphylococcal abscess communities (SACs), surrounded by a fibrin pseudocapsule and infiltrating immune cells. Protection against the ingress of immune cells such as neutrophils, or tolerance to antibiotics, remains largely unknown for SACs and is limited by the lack of availability of in vitro models. We describe a three-dimensional in vitro model of SACs grown in a human plasma-supplemented collagen gel. The in vitro SACs reached their maximum size by 24 h and elaborated a fibrin pseudocapsule, as confirmed by electron and immunofluorescence microscopy. The in vitro SACs tolerated 100× the MIC of gentamicin alone and in combination with rifampin, while planktonic controls and mechanically dispersed SACs were efficiently killed. To simulate a host response, SACs were exposed to differentiated PLB-985 neutrophil-like (dPLB) cells and to primary human neutrophils at an early stage of SAC formation or after maturation at 24 h. Both cell types were unable to clear mature in vitro SACs, but dPLB cells prevented SAC growth upon early exposure before pseudocapsule maturation. Neutrophil exposure after plasmin pretreatment of the SACs resulted in a significant decrease in the number of bacteria within the SACs. The in vitro SAC model mimics key in vivo features, offers a new tool to study host-pathogen interactions and drug efficacy assessment, and has revealed the functionality of the S. aureus pseudocapsule in protecting the bacteria from host phagocytic responses and antibiotics.


mBio ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Boyle-Vavra ◽  
Xue Li ◽  
Md Tauqeer Alam ◽  
Timothy D. Read ◽  
Julia Sieth ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe surface capsular polysaccharide (CP) is a virulence factor that has been used as an antigen in several successful vaccines against bacterial pathogens. A vaccine has not yet been licensed againstStaphylococcus aureus, although two multicomponent vaccines that contain CP antigens are in clinical trials. In this study, we evaluated CP production in USA300 methicillin-resistantS. aureus(MRSA) isolates that have become the predominant community-associated MRSA clones in the United States. We found that all 167 USA300 MRSA and 50 USA300 methicillin-susceptibleS. aureus(MSSA) isolates were CP negative (CP−). Moreover, all 16 USA500 isolates, which have been postulated to be the progenitor lineage of USA300, were also CP−. Whole-genome sequence analysis of 146 CP−USA300 MRSA isolates revealed they all carry acap5locus with 4 conserved mutations compared with strain Newman. Genetic complementation experiments revealed that three of these mutations (in thecap5promoter,cap5Dnucleotide 994, andcap5Enucleotide 223) ablated CP production in USA300 and that Cap5E75 Asp, located in the coenzyme-binding domain, is essential for capsule production. All but three USA300 MSSA isolates had the same fourcap5mutations found in USA300 MRSA isolates. Most isolates with a USA500 pulsotype carried three of these four USA300-specific mutations, suggesting the fourth mutation occurred in the USA300 lineage. Phylogenetic analysis of thecaploci of our USA300 isolates as well as publicly available genomes from 41 other sequence types revealed that the USA300-specificcap5mutations arose sequentially inS. aureusin a common ancestor of USA300 and USA500 isolates.IMPORTANCEThe USA300 MRSA clone emerged as a community-associated pathogen in the United States nearly 20 years ago. Since then, it has rapidly disseminated and now causes health care-associated infections. This study shows that the CP-negative (CP−) phenotype has persisted among USA300 isolates and is a universal and characteristic trait of this highly successful MRSA lineage. It is important to note that a vaccine consisting solely of CP antigens would not likely demonstrate high efficacy in the U.S. population, where about half of MRSA isolates comprise USA300. Moreover, conversion of a USA300 strain to a CP-positive (CP+) phenotype is unlikelyin vivoorin vitrosince it would require the reversion of 3 mutations. We have also established that USA300 MSSA isolates and USA500 isolates are CP−and provide new insight into the evolution of the USA300 and USA500 lineages.


2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (12) ◽  
pp. 5049-5055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeyoung Park ◽  
Sabina Gerber ◽  
Jean C. Lee

ABSTRACTMostStaphylococcus aureusisolates produce either a serotype 5 (CP5) or 8 (CP8) capsular polysaccharide, and the CP antigens are targets for vaccine development. Since CP5 and CP8 have similar trisaccharide repeating units, it is important to identify an epitope shared by both CP5 and CP8. To characterize cross-reactivity between CP5 and CP8, the immunogenicity of CP5 and CP8 conjugate vaccines in mice and rabbits was evaluated by serological assays. Immune sera were also tested for functional activity byin vitroopsonophagocytic-killing assays and a murine bacteremia model. Antibodies to the CP5-cross-reactive material 197 (CRM197) conjugate vaccine bound only to purified CP5. In contrast, antibodies to the CP8-CRM conjugate vaccine reacted with CP8 and (to a lesser extent) CP5. De-O-acetylation of CP5 increased its reactivity with CP8 antibodies. Moreover, CP8 antibodies bound toPseudomonas aeruginosaO11 lipopolysaccharide, which has a trisaccharide repeating unit similar to that of theS. aureusCPs. CP8-CRM antibodies mediatedin vitroopsonophagocytic killing ofS. aureusexpressing CP5 or CP8, whereas CP5-CRM antibodies were serotype specific. Passive immunization with antiserum to CP5-CRM or CP8-CRM protected mice against bacteremia induced by a serotype 5S. aureusisolate, suggesting that CP8-CRM elicits antibodies cross-reactive to CP5. The identification of epitopes shared by CP5 and CP8 may inform the rational design of a vaccine to protect against infections caused by CP5- or CP8-producing strains ofS. aureus.


2008 ◽  
Vol 76 (12) ◽  
pp. 5738-5744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorena P. N. Tuchscherr ◽  
Fernanda R. Buzzola ◽  
Lucía P. Alvarez ◽  
Jean C. Lee ◽  
Daniel O. Sordelli

ABSTRACT The pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus infections is influenced by multiple virulence factors that are expressed under variable conditions, and this has complicated the design of an effective vaccine. Clinical trials that targeted the capsule or clumping factor A (ClfA) failed to protect the recipients against staphylococcal infections. We passively immunized lactating mice with rabbit antibodies to S. aureus capsular polysaccharide (CP) serotype 5 (CP5) or CP8 or with monoclonal antibodies to ClfA. Mice immunized with antibodies to CP5 or CP8 or with ClfA had significantly reduced tissue bacterial burdens 4 days after intramammary challenge with encapsulated S. aureus strains. After several passages in mice passively immunized with CP-specific antiserum, increasing numbers of stable unencapsulated variants of S. aureus were cultured from the infected mammary glands. Greater numbers of these unencapsulated S. aureus variants than of the corresponding encapsulated parental strains were internalized in vitro in MAC-T bovine cells. Furthermore, small-colony variants (SCVs) were recovered from the infected mammary glands after several passages in mice passively immunized with CP-specific antiserum. A combination of antibodies effectively sterilized mammary glands in a significant number of passively immunized mice. More importantly, passive immunization with antibodies to both CP and ClfA fully inhibited the emergence of unencapsulated “escape mutants” and significantly reduced the appearance of SCVs. A vaccine formulation comprising CP conjugates plus a surface-associated protein adhesin may be more effective than either antigen alone for prevention of S. aureus infections.


1998 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 5183-5189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoj Thakker ◽  
Jin-Sir Park ◽  
Vincent Carey ◽  
Jean C. Lee

ABSTRACT Controversy persists over the role that the capsular polysaccharide plays in the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureusinfections. To address this issue, we compared the mouse virulence ofS. aureus Reynolds and capsule-defective mutant strains cultivated under conditions of high or low capsule expression. Strain Reynolds cells cultivated on Columbia salt agar plates expressed ∼100-fold more type 5 capsular polysaccharide than did cells cultivated in Columbia salt broth. The relative virulence of strain Reynolds and its capsule-defective mutants after growth on either solid or liquid medium was examined in mice challenged intraperitoneally or intravenously. The results indicated that agar-grown Reynolds cells were cleared from the bloodstream of mice less readily than broth-grown Reynolds cells. When the parental and mutant strains were cultivated on solid medium, strain Reynolds sustained a higher level of bacteremia than did the capsular mutants. We performed in vitro opsonophagocytic killing assays to determine whether staphylococcal virulence for mice correlated with resistance to phagocytosis. S. aureus Reynolds cultivated on solid medium was susceptible to phagocytic killing only in the presence of specific capsular antibodies and complement. Strain Reynolds grown in broth showed opsonic requirements for phagocytic killing that were similar to those of the capsular mutants (grown in broth or on agar); i.e., the bacteria were opsonized for phagocytosis by nonimmune serum with complement activity. These studies indicate that optimal expression of capsule enhances bacterial virulence in the mouse model of bacteremia, probably by rendering the organisms resistant to opsonophagocytic killing by leukocytes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila Ledo ◽  
Cintia D. Gonzalez ◽  
Ailin Garofalo ◽  
Florencia Sabbione ◽  
Irene A. Keitelman ◽  
...  

The type 1 TNF-α receptor (TNFR1) has a central role in initiating both pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic signaling cascades in neutrophils. Considering that TNFR1 signals Staphylococcus aureus protein A (SpA), the aim of this study was to explore the interaction of this bacterial surface protein with neutrophils and keratinocytes to underscore the signaling pathways that may determine the fate of these innate immune cells in the infected tissue during staphylococcal skin infections. Using human neutrophils cultured in vitro and isogenic staphylococcal strains expressing or not protein A, we demonstrated that SpA is a potent inducer of IL-8 in neutrophils and that the induction of this chemokine is dependent on the SpA-TNFR1 interaction and p38 activation. In addition to IL-8, protein A induced the expression of TNF-α and MIP-1α highlighting the importance of SpA in the amplification of the inflammatory response. Protein A contributed to reduce neutrophil mortality prolonging their lifespan upon the encounter with S. aureus. Signaling initiated by SpA modulated the type of neutrophil cell death in vitro and during skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) in vivo triggering the apoptotic pathway instead of necrosis. Moreover, SpA induced pro-inflammatory cytokines in keratinocytes, modulating their survival in vitro and preventing the exacerbated necrosis and ulceration of the epithelium during SSTI in vivo. Taken together, these results highlight the importance of the inflammatory signaling induced by protein A in neutrophils and skin epithelial cells. The ability of protein A to modulate the neutrophil/epithelial cell death program in the skin is of clinical relevance considering that lysis of neutrophils and epithelial cells will promote an intense inflammatory response and contribute to tissue damage, a non-desirable feature of complicated SSTI.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Hajtuch ◽  
Karolina Niska ◽  
Iwona Inkielewicz-Stepniak

Background: Cancer along with cardiovascular diseases are globally defined as leading causes of death. Importantly, some risk factors are common to these diseases. The process of angiogenesis and platelets aggregation are observed in cancer development and progression. In recent years, studies have been conducted on nanodrugs in these diseases that have provided important information on the biological and physicochemical properties of nanoparticles. Their attractive features are that they are made of biocompatible, well-characterized and easily functionalized materials. Unlike conventional drug delivery, sustained and controlled drug release can be obtained by using nanomaterials. Methods: In this article, we review the latest research to provide comprehensive information on nanoparticle-based drugs for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular disease associated with abnormal haemostasis, and the inhibition of tumorassociated angiogenesis. Results: The results of the analysis of data based on nanoparticles with drugs confirm their improved pharmaceutical and biological properties, which gives promising antiplatelet, anticoagulant and antiangiogenic effects. Moreover, the review included in vitro, in vivo research and presented nanodrugs with chemotherapeutics approved by Food and Drug Administration. Conclusion: By the optimization of nanoparticles size and surface properties, nanotechnology are able to deliver drugs with enhanced bioavailability in treatment of cardiovascular disease, cancer and inhibition of cancer-related angiogenesis. Thus, nanotechnology can improve the therapeutic efficacy of the drug, but there is a need for a better understanding of the nanodrugs interaction in the human body, because this is a key factor in the success of potential nanotherapeutics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 285-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah M. Alnuqaydan ◽  
Bilal Rah

Background:Tamarix Articulata (T. articulata), commonly known as Tamarisk or Athal in Arabic region, belongs to the Tamaricaece species. It is an important halophytic medicinal plant and a good source of polyphenolic phytochemical(s). In traditional medicines, T. articulata extract is commonly used, either singly or in combination with other plant extracts against different ailments since ancient times.Methods:Electronic database survey via Pubmed, Google Scholar, Researchgate, Scopus and Science Direct were used to review the scientific inputs until October 2018, by searching appropriate keywords. Literature related to pharmacological activities of T. articulata, Tamarix species, phytochemical analysis of T. articulata, biological activities of T. articulata extracts. All of these terms were used to search the scientific literature associated with T. articulata; the dosage of extract, route of administration, extract type, and in-vitro and in-vivo model.Results:Numerous reports revealed that T. articulata contains a wide spectrum of phytochemical(s), which enables it to have a wide window of biological properties. Owing to the presence of high content of phytochemical compounds like polyphenolics and flavonoids, T. articulata is a potential source of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative properties. In view of these pharmacological properties, T. articulata could be a potential drug candidate to treat various clinical conditions including cancer in the near future.Conclusion:In this review, the spectrum of phytochemical(s) has been summarized for their pharmacological properties and the mechanisms of action, and the possible potential therapeutic applications of this plant against various diseases discussed.


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