The anterior nares are a primary ecologic niche for Staphylococcus aureus, and nasal colonization by this opportunistic pathogen increases the risk of development of S. aureus infection. Clearance of S. aureus nasal colonization greatly reduces this risk. Mupirocin ointment is the current standard of care for clearance of S. aureus nasal colonization, but resistance to this antibiotic is emergi...

Objective: A comparative evaluation of topical lysostaphin therapy with vancomycin and azithromycin in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) keratitis in a rabbit model. Methods: This study was conducted on 18 eyes of 18 rabbits. All rabbits were divided into 3 groups with 6 rabbits each. Right eyes were experimental eyes. Keratitis was induced by aseptically injecting the corneal ...

OBJECTIVES Successful treatment of infections involving multiply drug-resistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is becoming increasingly difficult. In this work, we have investigated the potential of combining lysostaphin with cationic antimicrobial peptides to effectively inhibit Staphylococcus aureus. METHODS S. aureus strains were grown in 96-well plates in the presence ...

The emergence of clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin has prompted a search for new and novel therapeutic agents active against S. aureus. Lysostaphin, a peptidase produced by Staphylococcus simulans, specifically cleaves the glycine-glycine bonds unique to the interpeptide cross-bridge of the S. aureus cell wall. The effecti...

A rapid, simple lysostaphin lysis susceptibility test to differentiate the genera Staphylococcus and Micrococcus was evaluated. Of 181 strains from culture collections, 95 of 95 Staphylococcus strains were lysed, and 79 of 79 Micrococcus strains were not lysed. The seven Planococcus strains were resistant. Clinical isolates (890) were tested with lysostaphin and for the ability to produce acid ...

Staphylococcus aureus FDA 209P cells when suspended in 24% (w/v) NaCl were rendered osmotically fragile by exposure to lysostaphin for time intervals ranging from 2 to 60 min. Such cells were analyzed chemically and serologically for evidence of residual cell wall material, were plated in hypertonic sucrose medium to determine revertibility to normal, and were subjected to manometric studies to...

The rabbit model of endocarditis was used to test the effectiveness of vancomycin and two different lysostaphin dosing regimens for the treatment of infections caused by a Staphylococcus aureus strain with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (glycopeptide-intermediate susceptible S. aureus [GISA]). Vancomycin was ineffective, with no evidence of sterilization of aortic valve vegetations. Howev...

The advent of Staphylococcus aureus strains that are resistant to virtually all antibiotics has increased the need for new antistaphylococcal agents. An example of such a potential therapeutic is lysostaphin, an enzyme that specifically cleaves the S. aureus peptidoglycan, thereby lysing the bacteria. Here we tracked over time the structural and physical dynamics of single S. aureus cells expos...

The in vitro activity of lysostaphin against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus was determined by conventional tube-dilution methods. For comparison, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were also determined for penicillin G, ampicillin, methicillin, ristocetin, vancomycin, and erythromycin. Phage type and penicillinase and coagulase production were determined for each isolate....

By use of a renal staphylococcal infection model in mice, single intravenous doses of lysostaphin ranging from 1.56 to 50 mg/kg were effective in: (i) controlling the staphylococcal population of kidneys, (ii) reducing the mortality rate, and (iii) clearing high numbers of kidneys of infection. Semisynthetic penicillins and other antistaphylococcal antibiotics given in the same manner did not h...