Staphylococcus epidermidis strategies to avoid killing by human neutrophils.
Staphylococcus epidermidis strategies to avoid killing by human neutrophils.
复制标题
DOI：
10.1371/journal.ppat.1001133
复制
发表时间：
2010-10-07
期刊：
影响因子：
6.7
通讯作者：
Otto M
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cheung GY;Rigby K;Wang R;Queck SY;Braughton KR;Whitney AR;Teintze M;DeLeo FR;Otto M
Staphylococcus epidermidis is a leading nosocomial pathogen. In contrast to its more aggressive relative S. aureus, it causes chronic rather than acute infections. In highly virulent S. aureus, phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) contribute significantly to immune evasion and aggressive virulence by their strong ability to lyse human neutrophils. Members of the PSM family are also produced by S. epidermidis, but their role in immune evasion is not known. Notably, strong cytolytic capacity of S. epidermidis PSMs would be at odds with the notion that S. epidermidis is a less aggressive pathogen than S. aureus, prompting us to examine the biological activities of S. epidermidis PSMs. Surprisingly, we found that S. epidermidis has the capacity to produce PSMδ, a potent leukocyte toxin, representing the first potent cytolysin to be identified in that pathogen. However, production of strongly cytolytic PSMs was low in S. epidermidis, explaining its low cytolytic potency. Interestingly, the different approaches of S. epidermidis and S. aureus to causing human disease are thus reflected by the adaptation of biological activities within one family of virulence determinants, the PSMs. Nevertheless, S. epidermidis has the capacity to evade neutrophil killing, a phenomenon we found is partly mediated by resistance mechanisms to antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), including the protease SepA, which degrades AMPs, and the AMP sensor/resistance regulator, Aps (GraRS). These findings establish a significant function of SepA and Aps in S. epidermidis immune evasion and explain in part why S. epidermidis may evade elimination by innate host defense despite the lack of cytolytic toxin expression. Our study shows that the strategy of S. epidermidis to evade elimination by human neutrophils is characterized by a passive defense approach and provides molecular evidence to support the notion that S. epidermidis is a less aggressive pathogen than S. aureus. Staphylococcus epidermidis frequently causes chronic infections, indicating pronounced capacity to evade host defenses. However, S. epidermidis is in general much less aggressive than its close relative, S. aureus. Here we identify molecular underpinnings of that discrepancy by showing that S. epidermidis immune evasion mechanisms are limited to those involving molecules that protect against or eliminate antimicrobial agents secreted by white blood cells, while immune evasion mechanisms of virulent S. aureus include the production of destructive toxins. This is especially noteworthy, because we demonstrate here for the first time that S. epidermidis has the capacity to produce a toxin with great potential to destroy white blood cells, but keeps its production at a very limited level. Thus, our study shows that two closely related human pathogens have adapted specific molecular mechanisms to evade host defenses, reflecting the unique approach used by each to cause human disease.
登录
查看更多内容
影响因子：
3.1
作者：
MACK, D;NEDELMANN, M;LAUFS, R
通讯作者：
LAUFS, R
影响因子：
3.6
作者：
Li, Min;Cha, David J.;Otto, Michael
通讯作者：
Otto, Michael
影响因子：
15.9
作者：
Kocianova, S;Vuong, C;Otto, M
通讯作者：
Otto, M
影响因子：
39.2
作者：
CHRISTENSEN, GD;BISNO, AL;LUTHER, RW
通讯作者：
LUTHER, RW
影响因子：
3.1
作者：
Kobayashi, Yoshiro
通讯作者：
Kobayashi, Yoshiro