« Previous AbstractStaphylococcus epidermidis infections    Next AbstractPredicting the lifetime of organic vapor cartridges exposed to volatile organic compound mixtures using a partial differential equations model »

J Infect Dis

Title:		Quorum-sensing control of biofilm factors in Staphylococcus epidermidis
Author(s):		Vuong C; Gerke C; Somerville GA; Fischer ER; Otto M;
Address:		"Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA"
Journal Title:		J Infect Dis
Year:		2003
Volume:		20030811
Issue:		5
Page Number:		706 - 718
DOI:		10.1086/377239
ISSN/ISBN:		0022-1899 (Print) 0022-1899 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Staphylococcus epidermidis is the most frequent cause of nosocomial sepsis and catheter-related infections, in which biofilm formation is considered to be the main virulence mechanism. Quorum-sensing systems have been recognized as important regulators of virulence and biofilm formation in many bacteria. There is a single quorum-sensing system in S. epidermidis encoded by the agr operon. To investigate quorum-sensing control of biofilm formation, we constructed an agr deletion mutant, assayed for the different stages of biofilm formation, and determined agr-dependent regulation of biofilm factors. The agr mutant showed increased biofilm formation, primary attachment, and expression of the autolysin AtlE, but lacked delta-toxin production. However, the level of polysaccharide intercellular adhesin expression was equivalent to the isogenic wild-type strain. In contrast to AtlE, which is known to influence primary attachment, delta-toxin appeared to exert its effect on attachment to polystyrene during later stages of biofilm formation. Importantly, addition of cross-inhibiting pheromones mimicked an agr mutation and significantly enhanced biofilm formation, which suggests that care should be used when treating S. epidermidis infections with cross-inhibiting peptides. Our data demonstrate the importance of quorum sensing in the establishment of a biofilm in this critical human pathogen"
Keywords:		"Bacterial Adhesion Bacterial Proteins/*genetics/*metabolism Bacterial Toxins/genetics/metabolism Biofilms/*growth & development *Gene Deletion *Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial Microscopy, Electron, Scanning N-Acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine Amidase/genetic;"
Notes:		"MedlineVuong, Cuong Gerke, Christiane Somerville, Greg A Fischer, Elizabeth R Otto, Michael eng 2003/08/23 J Infect Dis. 2003 Sep 1; 188(5):706-18. doi: 10.1086/377239. Epub 2003 Aug 11"