title: The length of the Staphylococcus aureus protein A polymorphic region regulates inflammation: impact on acute and chronic infection.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus protein A (SpA) plays a critical role in the induction of inflammation. This study was aimed to determine whether the number of short sequence repeats (SSRs) present in the polymorphic region modulates the inflammatory response induced by SpA. We demonstrated that there is a dose-response effect in the activation of interferon (IFN)-β signaling in airway epithelial and immune cells, depending on the number of SSRs, which leads to differences in neutrophil recruitment. We also determined that a significant proportion of isolates from patients with chronic infections such as osteomyelitis and cystic fibrosis carry fewer SSRs than do isolates from patients with acute infections or healthy carriers and that there was an inverse correlation between the number of SSRs and the length of disease course. Given the importance of IFN signaling in eradication of S. aureus, loss of SSRs may represent an advantageous mechanism to adapt to and persist in the host.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Ailin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garofalo
authors.forename: Constanza
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giai
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lattar
authors.forename: Noella
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gardella
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mollerach
authors.forename: Barbara C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Kahl
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Alice S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Prince
authors.forename: Daniel O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Sordelli
authors.forename: Marisa I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Gómez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D020556:Neutrophil Infiltration / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D010019:Osteomyelitis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A; D016899:Interferon-beta