Capsular Polysaccharide Masks Clumping Factor A–Mediated Adherence ofStaphylococcus aureusto Fibrinogen and Platelets

Capsular polysaccharide masks clumping factor A-mediated adherence of Staphylococcus aureus to fibrinogen and platelets.

BACKGROUND Clumping factor A (ClfA) is a Staphylococcus aureus cell wall-associated adhesin that mediates staphylococcal binding to fibrinogen and platelets. Our goals were to determine whether expression of capsular polysaccharide (CP) affected ClfA-mediated adherence of S. aureus and to assess whether the length of the ClfA repeat region influenced this interaction. METHODS ClfA constructs ...

Extracellular Fibrinogen Binding Protein Proteins: Clumping Factor and an Fibrinogen Binding

Fibrinogen-binding protein/clumping factor from Staphylococcus aureus.

The binding of staphylococcal components to fibrinogen was studied. Fibrinogen-binding material from lysed staphylococcal cells or culture supernatants was affinity purified on fibrinogen-Sepharose and analyzed on Western (immuno-) blots by the use of fibrinogen and antifibrinogen antibodies. Two main bands of 87 and 19 kilodaltons (kDa) and a weaker band of 35 kDa bound specifically to fibrino...

Pneumococcal Capsular Polysaccharide Vaccine

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus [Pnc]) is a common bacterial agent found in mild mucosal as well as severe systemic infections. Local infections, such as acute otitis media, are rather common; every child has at least one during the first 2 years of life (1), and Pnc is the causative agent in approximately half of the bacterial culturepositive cases (2). Pneumonia is another disease ofte...

Inhibition of fibrinogen reaction by polysaccharide of encapsulated Staphylococcus aureus.

Encapsulated and nonencapsulated strains of Staphylococcus aureus which lack coagulase or clumping factor (bound coagulase), or both, were examined for the antigen associated with the fibrinogen-cell clumping reaction. Extracts of the cells were tested for the ability to react with fibrinogen or to inhibit fibrinogen precipitation. Antisera prepared against encapsulated (coagulase-positive, clu...