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Regulation of virulence determinants in vitro and in vivo in Staphylococcus aureus

  1. Ambrose L Cheung1,*,
  2. Arnold S Bayer2,3,
  3. Gongyi Zhang4,
  4. Hattie Gresham5,
  5. Yan-Qiong Xiong2,3

Article first published online: 9 JAN 2006

DOI: 10.1016/S0928-8244(03)00309-2

Issue

FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology

FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology

Volume 40, Issue 1, pages 1–9, January 2004

Additional Information

How to Cite

Cheung, A. L., Bayer, A. S., Zhang, G., Gresham, H. and Xiong, Y.-Q. (2004), Regulation of virulence determinants in vitro and in vivo in Staphylococcus aureus. FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology, 40: 1–9. doi: 10.1016/S0928-8244(03)00309-2

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Microbiology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03755, USA

  2. 2

    Research and Education Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA 90502, USA

  3. 3

    UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA

  4. 4

    Integrated Department of Immunology, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, CO 80206, USA

  5. 5

    Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA

* *Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 (603) 650 1340; Fax: +49 (603) 650 1362, E-mail address: ambrose.cheung@dartmouth.edu

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 9 JAN 2006
  2. Article first published online: 9 JAN 2006
  3. Received 27 September 2003, Revised 26 October 2003, Accepted 28 October 2003

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Keywords:

  • Staphylococcus aureus;
  • Gene regulation;
  • Virulence determinant;
  • Animal models

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen. In response to changing host environments, this bacterium has the capability to switch on selective sets of genes to enhance its chances for survival. This switching process is precisely controlled by global regulatory elements. There are two major groups of global regulatory elements in S. aureus, including two-component regulatory systems (TCRSs) and the SarA protein family. Presumably, the sensor proteins of the 16 TCRSs in S. aureus provide external sensing, while the response regulators, in conjunction with alternative transcription factors and the SarA protein family, function as effectors within the intricate regulatory network to respond to environmental stimuli. Sequence alignment and structural data indicate that the SarA protein family could be subdivided into three subfamilies: (1) single-domain proteins; (2) double-domain proteins; and (3) proteins homologous to the MarR protein family. Recent data using reporter gene fusions in animal models, have confirmed distinct expression profiles of selected regulatory and target genes in vitro vs. in vivo.

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