The transcription of mecA, the gene required for oxacillin resistance in staphylococci, was quantified in a collection of 65 geographically and genetically diverse clinical and 8 defined laboratory Staphylococcus aureus isolates. mecA transcription was measured by real-time reverse transcription-PCR, confirmed by Northern blot analysis, and correlated with the presence and DNA sequence of the t...

OBJECTIVES A previously unidentified mecA homologue, mecA(LGA251), has recently been described in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from humans and dairy cattle. The origin and epidemiology of this novel homologue are unclear. The objective of this study was to provide basic descriptive information of MRSA isolates harbouring mecA(LGA251) from a range of host animal species. ...

BACKGROUND Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a negative regulator of immune responses and was previously shown to be expressed by human nasal endothelial cells, while the adhesion molecule MECA-79 plays a role in trans-endothelial migration of immune competent cells. In this study we investigate the relationship between endothelial IL-10 and MECA-79 expression to address the question whether immune com...

A multiplex PCR assay for detection of the staphylococcal mecA gene (the structural gene for penicillin-binding protein 2a) was compared with agar dilution and disk diffusion susceptibility test methods for identifying methicillin resistance. The multiplex PCR assay combined two primer sets (mecA and 16S rRNA) in a single reaction. A total of 500 staphylococcal isolates (228 isolates of Staphyl...

Adenosine A(3) receptor agonist N(6)-(3-iodobenzyl)adenosine-5'-N-methyluronamide (IB-MECA) has been tested from the point of view of potentiating the effects of hematopoietic growth factors interleukin-3 (IL-3), stem cell factor (SCF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) on the growth of hematopoietic progenitor cells for...

The staphylococcal methicillin resistance determinant, mecA, resides on a mobile genetic element, staphylococcus chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec). The distribution of SCCmec in nature is limited to relatively few clonal complexes of related methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We have previously reported that some genetic backgrounds are restrictive of mecA and penicillin-bindin...

The spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), in which the mecA gene mediates resistance, threatens the treatment of staphylococcal diseases. The aims were to determine the effect of wastewater treatment processes on mecA gene concentrations, and the prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA over time. To achieve this a municipal wastewater treatment plant was investigated for the me...

Eighty-three isolates of Staphylococcus aureus for which MICs of methicillin of 4-16 mg/L had previously been recorded were tested for the presence of the mecA gene with a DNA probe and a PCR assay. There was complete agreement between the results obtained by these methods; 39 isolates were mecA-positive and 44 were mecA-negative. Using the presence of mecA as the defining standard, several phe...

The National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards has recently changed the oxacillin breakpoint from >/=4 mg/liter to >/=0. 5 mg/liter to detect methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) because the previous breakpoint lacked sensitivity. To determine the correlation between the new oxacillin breakpoint and the presence of the mecA gene, 493 CoNS of 11 species were te...

The EVIGENE MRSA Detection Kit was evaluated on coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) from agar plates and on staphylococci directly from positive spiked blood cultures. For the CoNS study, a total of 242 isolates were tested, and of these 237 gave valid test results. For the 237 valid tests, all gave correct mecA classification. For the blood culture procedure, a collection of 51 mecA-positi...