Staphylococcus aureus Strains Lacking d-Alanine Modifications of Teichoic Acids Are Highly Susceptible to Human Neutrophil Killing and Are Virulence Attenuated in Mice

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 186; no. 2; pp. 214 - 219
• Main Authors: Collins, L. Vincent, Kristian, Sascha A., Weidenmaier, Christopher, Faigle, Marion, van Kessel, Kok P. M., van Strijp, Jos A. G., Götz, Friedrich, Neumeister, Birgid, Peschel, Andreas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago, IL The University of Chicago Press 15.07.2002; University of Chicago Press
• Subjects: Alanine - metabolism; alpha-Defensins - metabolism; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - metabolism; Antimicrobials; Arthritis; Bacteria; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Infections; Major Articles; Membrane Transport Proteins - metabolism; Mice; Microbiology; Monocytes; Mutation; Neutrophils; Neutrophils - immunology; Neutrophils - metabolism; Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains; Phagocytosis; Staphylococcal Infections - immunology; Staphylococcal Infections - metabolism; Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - metabolism; Staphylococcus aureus - pathogenicity; Teichoic acids; Teichoic Acids - genetics; Teichoic Acids - metabolism; Virulence; Human; Resistance; Virulence; Bacteria; Micrococcales; Host agent relation; Micrococcaceae; Neutrophil; Attenuated strain; Staphylococcus aureus; Teichoic acids; Bactericidal effect

Staphylococcus aureus is resistant to α-defensins, antimicrobial peptides that play an important role in oxygen-independent killing of human neutrophils. The dlt operon mediates d-alanine incorporation into teichoic acids in the staphylococcal cell envelope and is a determinant of defensin resistanc...