title: Slime-producing Staphylococcus epidermidis and S. aureus in acute bacterial conjunctivitis in soft contact lens wearers.
abstract: In recent years, an increase in ocular pathologies related to soft contact lens has been observed. The most common infectious agents were Staphylococcus spp. Some strains produce an extracellular polysaccharidic slime that can cause severe infections. Polysaccharide synthesis is under genetic control and involves a specific intercellular adhesion (ica) locus, in particular, icaA and icaD genes. Conjunctival swabs from 97 patients with presumably bacterial bilateral conjunctivitis, wearers of soft contact lenses were examined. We determined the ability of staphylococci to produce slime, relating it to the presence of icaA and icaD genes. We also investigated the antibiotic susceptibility and Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of the clinical isolates. We found that 74.1% of the S. epidermidis strains and 61.1% of the S. aureus strains isolated were slime producers and showed icaA and icaD genes. Both S. epidermidis and S. aureus slime-producing strains exhibited more surface hydrophobicity than non-producing slime strains. The PFGE patterns overlapped in S. epidermidis strains with high hydrophobicity. The similar PFGE patterns were not related to biofilm production. We found scarce matching among the Staphylococcus spp. studied, slime production, surface hydrophobicity and antibiotic susceptibility.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Sezione di Microbiologia e Microbiologia clinica, Seconda Università di Napoli, Napoli, Italy. piergior.catalanotti@unina2.it
authors.forename: Piergiorgio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Catalanotti
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lanza
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Del Prete
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lucido
authors.forename: Maria Rosaria
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Catania
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gallè
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boggia
authors.forename: Brunella
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Perfetto
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rossano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002648:Child; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000382:microbiology; D003234:Conjunctivitis, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology*; D003263:Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic / Q000382:microbiology*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005260:Female; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial