Virulence regulation inStaphylococcus aureus: the need for in vivo analysis of virulence factor regulation

Regulation of virulence gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus

The pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus has the ability to cause a wide variety of human diseases, ranging from superficial abscesses and wound infections to deep and systemic infections such as osteomyelitis, endocarditis and septicaemia. The ability to cause disease has been attributed to a large number of toxins and digesting enzymes as well as to proteins at the bacterial surface tha...

Targeting MgrA-mediated virulence regulation in Staphylococcus aureus.

Increasing antibiotic resistance in human pathogens necessitates the development of new approaches against infections. Targeting virulence regulation at the transcriptional level represents a promising strategy yet to be explored. A global transcriptional regulator, MgrA in Staphylococcus aureus, was identified previously as a key virulence determinant. We have performed a fluorescence anisotro...

Attenuating Staphylococcus aureus Virulence Gene Regulation: A Medicinal Chemistry Perspective

Virulence gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus is tightly regulated by intricate networks of transcriptional regulators and two-component signal transduction systems. There is now an emerging body of evidence to suggest that the blockade of S. aureus virulence gene expression significantly attenuates infection in experimental models. In this Perspective, we will provide insights into medici...

Characterization of virulence factor regulation by SrrAB, a two-component system in Staphylococcus aureus.

Workers in our laboratory have previously identified the staphylococcal respiratory response AB (SrrAB), a Staphylococcus aureus two-component system that acts in the global regulation of virulence factors. This system down-regulates production of agr RNAIII, protein A, and toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1), particularly under low-oxygen conditions. In this study we investigated the localiz...

Regulation of virulence gene expression.