title: Staphylococcus aureus survival in human blood.
abstract: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is abundant in hospitals and in the United States is a leading cause of mortality due to infectious agents. Community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) strains such as USA300, which typically cause disease outside of healthcare settings, are also prevalent in the United States. Although most CA-MRSA infections affect skin and soft tissue, the pathogen can enter the bloodstream and ultimately cause severe disease. In a recent paper, we used USA300-specific microarrays to generate a comprehensive view of the molecules that facilitate S. aureus immune evasion and survival in human blood. Notably, genes encoding proteins involved in iron-uptake and utilization and gamma-hemolysin (hlgABC) are highly up-regulated by USA300 during culture in human blood. Here we discuss the potential implication of these findings and the possible role of gamma-hemolysin in the success of S. aureus as a human pathogen.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, USA.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Malachowa
authors.forename: Frank R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: DeLeo
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D050296:Microbial Viability; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins