Alpha-toxin damages the air-blood barrier of the lung in a rat model of Staphylococcus aureus-induced pneumonia.
We have shown that injury to alveolar epithelial type I cells may account, in part, for damage to the air-blood barrier of the lung in a rat model of Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia. We have also shown that alpha-toxin is an important cause of damage to the air-blood barrier; however, our data suggest that the toxin is not acting directly on alveolar type I cells.
McElroy
M C
MC
Rayne Laboratories, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. mmcelroy@ed.ac.uk
Harty
H R
HR
Hosford
G E
GE
Boylan
G M
GM
Pittet
J F
JF
Foster
T J
TJ
D000818:Animals; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000473:pathology; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D011023:Pneumonia, Staphylococcal / Q000473:pathology*; D011650:Pulmonary Alveoli / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; C021091:staphylococcal alpha-toxin