A Prophage in Diabetic Foot Ulcer-Colonizing Staphylococcus aureus Impairs Invasiveness by Limiting Intracellular Growth

The mechanisms that drive the transition from commensality to invasiveness in Staphylococcus aureus are poorly understood. We recently reported that >50% of S. aureus isolates from uninfected diabetic foot ulcers in French patients harbor a prophage, ROSA-like, that is absent from invasive isolates from diabetic foot infections, including osteomyelitis. Here we show that the ROSA-like insertion abolishes the ability of S. aureus to replicate within osteoblasts, the bone-forming cells, greatly reducing damage to infected cells. These results unravel an important mechanism by which particular S. aureus strains are maintained in a commensal state in diabetic foot ulcers.

Source: The Journal of Infectious Diseases - October 27, 2016 Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Rasigade, J.-P., Dunyach-Remy, C., Sapin, A., Messad, N., Trouillet-Assant, S., Dupieux, C., Lavigne, J.-P., Laurent, F. Tags: PATHOGENESIS AND HOST RESPONSE Source Type: research