Background: The aim of this study was to compare the biofilm formation and the prevalence of biofilm-associated genes between the isolates of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) Staphylococcus aureus. Methods: In total, 209 S. aureus isolates were collected. The antibiotic susceptibility test was conducted using nine antibiotics according to the guidelines of Clinica...

Staphylococcus aureus strains lacking agr- and sarA-dependent gene products or specific MSCRAMM (microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules) adhesins were compared for the ability to activate inflammatory responses in the lung. The mutants were evaluated for virulence in a mouse model of pneumonia and by quantifying their ability to stimulate interleukin-8 (IL-8) and gra...

The majority of infections with glycopeptide intermediate-level resistant Staphylococcus aureus (GISA) originate in biomedical devices, suggesting a possible increased ability of these strains to produce biofilm. Loss of function of the accessory gene regulator (agr) of S. aureus has been suggested to confer an enhanced ability to bind to polystyrene. We studied agr in GISA, hetero-GISA, and re...

Background. The pretreatment albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) has been reported to be a predictor of survival in several types of cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of AGR in patients with natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL). Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the available serum biochemistry results for 331 NKTCL patients before treatment. AGR was calculate...

This study compared the promoter activation profiles of the 2 major transcripts of the Staphylococcus aureus global regulon, agr (RNAII and RNAIII). In vitro, RNAIII activation temporally followed RNAII activation and was absent in agr mutants. In experimental endocarditis, maximal RNAII activation in vegetations occurred early, followed by progressive increases in RNAIII activation (P<.05; 2 v...

UNLABELLED Staphylococcus aureus is a human commensal that at times turns into a serious bacterial pathogen causing life-threatening infections. For the delicate control of virulence, S. aureus employs the agr quorum-sensing system that, via the intracellular effector molecule RNAIII, regulates virulence gene expression. We demonstrate that the presence of the agr locus imposes a fitness cost o...

Staphylococcus aureus organisms vary in the function of the staphylococcal virulence regulator gene agr. To test for a relationship between agr and transmission in S. aureus, we determined the prevalence and genetic basis of agr dysfunction among nosocomial methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in an area of MRSA endemicity. Identical inactivating agr mutations were not detected in epidemiolog...

Transport in disordered armchair graphene nanoribbons (AGR) with long-range correlation between quantum wire contacts is investigated by a transfer matrix combined with Landauer's formula. The metal-insulator transition is induced by disorder in neutral AGR. Therein, the conductance is one conductance quantum for the metallic phase and exponentially decays otherwise, when the length of AGR app...