title: Effect of alpha-toxin and capsular exopolysaccharide on the adherence of Staphylococcus aureus to cultured teat, ductal and secretory mammary epithelial cells.
abstract: Cultures of teat, ductal and secretory epithelial cells were used to study the role of alpha-toxin and the capsular exopolysaccharide on the adherence of Staphylococcus aureus to mammary epithelium. The adherence of S aureus to the cells and their susceptibility to damage by alpha-toxin increased from teat to ductal to secretory cells. Alpha-toxin increased the susceptibility of epithelial cell monolayers to adherence by S aureus, and the extent of the adherence increased with the time of exposure to alpha-toxin. The exopolysaccharide capsule deterred the adherence of S aureus to mammary epithelial cells and to collagen. Organisms with a rigid capsule adhered to a smaller extent than those with a flaccid capsule. Both encapsulated and unencapsulated S aureus adhered more readily to collagen than to either healthy monolayers of epithelial cells or monolayers of cells damaged by alpha-toxin.
authors.affiliation: Milk Secretion and Mastitis Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, Maryland 20705.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cifrian
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Guidry
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Marquardt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D002417:Cattle; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003094:Collagen / Q000502:physiology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000382:microbiology*; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000502:physiology*; D010738:Type C Phospholipases / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D003094:Collagen; D010738:Type C Phospholipases