Go to JCI Insight
  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Alerts
  • Advertising/recruitment
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • By specialty
    • Cardiology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Immunology
    • Metabolism
    • Nephrology
    • Neuroscience
    • Oncology
    • Pulmonology
    • Vascular biology
    • All...
  • Videos
    • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
    • Author's Takes
  • Reviews
    • View all reviews...
    • Mechanisms Underlying the Metabolic Syndrome (Oct 2019)
    • Reparative Immunology (Jul 2019)
    • Allergy (Apr 2019)
    • Biology of familial cancer predisposition syndromes (Feb 2019)
    • Mitochondrial dysfunction in disease (Aug 2018)
    • Lipid mediators of disease (Jul 2018)
    • Cellular senescence in human disease (Apr 2018)
    • View all review series...
  • Collections
    • Recently published
    • In-Press Preview
    • Commentaries
    • Concise Communication
    • Editorials
    • Viewpoint
    • Scientific Show Stoppers
    • Top read articles
  • Clinical Medicine
  • JCI This Month
    • Current issue
    • Past issues

  • About
  • Editors
  • Consulting Editors
  • For authors
  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • By specialty
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Conversations with Giants in Medicine
  • Author's Takes
  • Recently published
  • Brief Reports
  • Technical Advances
  • Commentaries
  • Editorials
  • Hindsight
  • Review series
  • Reviews
  • The Attending Physician
  • First Author Perspectives
  • Scientific Show Stoppers
  • Top read articles
  • Concise Communication
Key role of poly-γ-dl-glutamic acid in immune evasion and virulence of Staphylococcus epidermidis
Stanislava Kocianova, … , Frank R. DeLeo, Michael Otto
Stanislava Kocianova, … , Frank R. DeLeo, Michael Otto
Published March 1, 2005
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2005;115(3):688-694. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI23523.
View: Text | PDF
Categories: Article Infectious disease

Key role of poly-γ-dl-glutamic acid in immune evasion and virulence of Staphylococcus epidermidis

  • Text
  • PDF
Abstract

Coagulase-negative staphylococci, with the leading species Staphylococcus epidermidis, are the predominant cause of hospital-acquired infections. Treatment is especially difficult owing to biofilm formation and frequent antibiotic resistance. However, virulence mechanisms of these important opportunistic pathogens have remained poorly characterized. Here we demonstrate that S. epidermidis secretes poly-γ-DL-glutamic acid (PGA) to facilitate growth and survival in the human host. Importantly, PGA efficiently sheltered S. epidermidis from key components of innate host defense, namely antimicrobial peptides and neutrophil phagocytosis, and was indispensable for persistence during device-related infection. Furthermore, PGA protected S. epidermidis from high salt concentration, a key feature of its natural environment, the human skin. Notably, PGA was synthesized by all tested strains of S. epidermidis and a series of closely related coagulase-negative staphylococci, most of which are opportunistic pathogens. Our study presents important novel biological functions for PGA and indicates that PGA represents an excellent target for therapeutic maneuvers aimed at treating disease caused by S. epidermidis and related staphylococci.

Authors

Stanislava Kocianova, Cuong Vuong, Yufeng Yao, Jovanka M. Voyich, Elizabeth R. Fischer, Frank R. DeLeo, Michael Otto

×

Figure 1

Options: View larger image (or click on image) Download as PowerPoint
Molecular genetic comparison of bacteria with genes encoding a putative ...
Molecular genetic comparison of bacteria with genes encoding a putative PGA synthesis machinery. (A) Phylogenetic trees based on sequence comparisons of the capB (amide ligase), capC (unknown function), and capD (depolymerase) genes. CapA is a putative PGA exporter. We have excluded a comparison of capA genes, because capA homologs were not found in all the organisms and comparison of transporters is normally less indicative of phylogenetic relations. Of the microorganisms shown, production of PGA has been demonstrated previously only in B. anthracis and B. subtilis, and in this study, in S. epidermidis. (B) cap genes and homologs in bacteria for which genetic information is available. The B. anthracis cap gene cluster is located on a plasmid and flanked by IS231 insertion sequences. All other genes are located in the bacterial chromosomes.
Follow JCI:
Copyright © 2019 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)

Sign up for email alerts