Impact of the agr quorum-sensing system on adherence to polystyrene in Staphylococcus aureus - PubMed (original) (raw)

Comparative Study

. 2000 Dec;182(6):1688-93.

doi: 10.1086/317606. Epub 2000 Oct 13.

Affiliations

Comparative Study

Impact of the agr quorum-sensing system on adherence to polystyrene in Staphylococcus aureus

C Vuong et al. J Infect Dis. 2000 Dec.

Abstract

Biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus is a serious problem in nosocomial infections. There are great differences in the capacity of S. aureus to express biofilms, but the reasons are unknown. In all, 105 S. aureus strains were tested for a correlation between the agr quorum-sensing system phenotype and the ability of S. aureus to adhere to polystyrene. Some 78% of agr-negative, but only 6% of agr-positive, strains formed a biofilm, demonstrating a profound impact of agr on biofilm formation. This result was confirmed with defined agr mutants and by inhibition of agr with quorum-sensing blockers. The observed effect was not due to differential expression of the autolysin Atl or of the exopolysaccharide polysaccharide intercellular adhesin but seemed to be caused, at least in part, by the surfactant properties of delta-toxin. The detected biofilm-enhancing effect of S. aureus quorum-sensing blockers call into question the proposed therapeutic use of such substances.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources