| Title: | Inhibition of virulence factor expression in Staphylococcus aureus by the Staphylococcus epidermidis agr pheromone and derivatives |
| Author(s): | Otto M; Sussmuth R; Vuong C; Jung G; Gotz F; |
| Address: | "Mikrobielle Genetik, Universitat Tubingen, Germany. michael.otto@uni-tuebingen.de" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/s0014-5793(99)00514-1 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0014-5793 (Print) 0014-5793 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The agr quorum-sensing system in Staphylococci controls the production of surface proteins and exoproteins. In the pathogenic species Staphylococcus aureus, these proteins include many virulence factors. The extracellular signal of the quorum-sensing system is a thiolactone-containing peptide pheromone, whose sequence varies among the different staphylococcal strains. We demonstrate that a synthetic Staphylococcus epidermidis pheromone is a competent inhibitor of the Staphylococcus aureus agr system. Derivatives of the pheromone, in which the N-terminus or the cyclic bond structure was changed, were synthesized and their biological activity was determined. The presence of a correct N-terminus and a thiolactone were absolute prerequisites for an agr-activating effect in S. epidermidis, whereas inhibition of the S. aureus agr system was less dependent on the original structure. Our results show that effective quorum-sensing blockers that suppress the expression of virulence factors in S. aureus can be designed based on the S. epidermidis pheromone" |
| Keywords: | Bacterial Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors/*biosynthesis/chemistry Molecular Structure Oligopeptides Phenotype Pheromones/antagonists & inhibitors/*biosynthesis/chemistry Staphylococcus aureus/*metabolism/pathogenicity Staphylococcus epidermidis/*metabol; |
| Notes: | "MedlineOtto, M Sussmuth, R Vuong, C Jung, G Gotz, F eng England 1999/06/08 FEBS Lett. 1999 May 7; 450(3):257-62. doi: 10.1016/s0014-5793(99)00514-1" |
