title: Structure and Function of Surface Polysaccharides of Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: The major surface polysaccharides of Staphylococcus aureus include the capsular polysaccharide (CP), cell wall teichoic acid (WTA), and polysaccharide intercellular adhesin/poly-β(1-6)-N-acetylglucosamine (PIA/PNAG). These glycopolymers are important components of the staphylococcal cell envelope, but none of them is essential to S. aureus viability and growth in vitro. The overall biosynthetic pathways of CP, WTA, and PIA/PNAG have been elucidated, and the functions of most of the biosynthetic enzymes have been demonstrated. Because S. aureus CP and WTA (but not PIA/PNAG) utilize a common cell membrane lipid carrier (undecaprenyl-phosphate) that is shared by the peptidoglycan biosynthesis pathway, there is evidence that these processes are highly integrated and temporally regulated. Regulatory elements that control glycopolymer biosynthesis have been described, but the cross talk that orchestrates the biosynthetic pathways of these three polysaccharides remains largely elusive. CP, WTA, and PIA/PNAG each play distinct roles in S. aureus colonization and the pathogenesis of staphylococcal infection. However, they each promote bacterial evasion of the host immune defences, and WTA is being explored as a target for antimicrobial therapeutics. All the three glycopolymers are viable targets for immunotherapy, and each (conjugated to a carrier protein) is under evaluation for inclusion in a multivalent S. aureus vaccine. Future research findings that increase our understanding of these surface polysaccharides, how the bacterial cell regulates their expression, and their biological functions will likely reveal new approaches to controlling this important bacterial pathogen.
authors.affiliation: Interfaculty Institute for Microbiology and Infection Medicine Tübingen, University of Tübingen and German Center for Infection Research, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weidenmaier
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. JCLEE@BWH.HARVARD.EDU.
authors.forename: Jean C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D011134:Polysaccharides; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus
chemical_list: D011134:Polysaccharides; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial