title: Cell Wall-Anchored Surface Proteins of Staphylococcus aureus: Many Proteins, Multiple Functions.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus persistently colonizes about 20 % of the population and is intermittently associated with the remainder. The organism can cause superficial skin infections and life-threatening invasive diseases. The surface of the bacterial cell displays a variety of proteins that are covalently anchored to peptidoglycan. They perform many functions including adhesion to host cells and tissues, invasion of non-phagocytic cells, and evasion of innate immune responses. The proteins have been categorized into distinct classes based on structural and functional analysis. Many surface proteins are multifunctional. Cell wall-anchored proteins perform essential functions supporting survival and proliferation during the commensal state and during invasive infections. The ability of cell wall-anchored proteins to bind to desquamated epithelial cells is important during colonization, and the binding to fibrinogen is of particular significance in pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Moyne Institute of Preventive Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Joan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Geoghegan
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Moyne Institute of Preventive Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. TFOSTER@tcd.ie.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Foster
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002473:Cell Wall; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins