Volume 194, number 12: Is Panton-Valentine Leukocidin the Major Virulence Determinant in Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Disease?
14th Nov 2006, 00:59 GMT
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains a major problem in hospitals, and it is now spreading in the community. A single toxin, Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), has been linked by epidemiological studies to community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) disease. However, the role that PVL plays in the pathogenesis of CA-MRSA has not been tested directly. To that end, we used mouse infection models to compare the virulence of PVL-positive with that of PVL-negative CA-MRSA representing the leading disease-causing strains. Unexpectedly, strains lacking PVL were as virulent in mouse sepsis and abscess models as those containing the leukotoxin. Isogenic PVL-negative (lukS/F-PV knockout) strains of USA300 and USA400 were as lethal as wild-type strains in a sepsis model, and they caused comparable skin disease. Moreover, lysis of human neutrophils and pathogen survival after phagocytosis were similar between wild-type and mutant strains. Although the toxin may be a highly linked epidemiological marker for CA-MRSA strains, we conclude that PVL is not the major virulence determinant of CA-MRSA.
Volume 194, number 12: Is Panton-Valentine Leukocidin the Major Virulence Determinant in Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Disease? related news:
- MRSA: why Ireland can't go Dutch — The Irish Times' Health Top Stories
- Volume 194, number 12: Antibiotic Selection May Contribute to Increases in Macrolide-Resistant Treponema pallidum — J Infect Dis Latest Issue
- Volume 194, number 12: Human Cytolytic T Cell Recognition of Yersinia pestis Virulence Proteins That Target Innate Immune Responses — J Infect Dis Latest Issue
- Volume 194, number 12: Increase in Serogroup C Meningococcal Disease in Canada Is Associated with Antigenic Changes in the Protein Antigens of the ET-15 Clone of Neisseria meningitidis — J Infect Dis Latest Issue
- Counseling Alzheimer's caregivers postpones the nursing home — EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science
- Blue Ribbon Campaign Launched by Malaria Foundation International to End Malaria — PR.com Press Releases
- Volume 194, number 12: Finding the Cause of Kawasaki Disease: A Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Priority — J Infect Dis Latest Issue
- Lab-on-a-chip could speed up treatment of drug-resistant pneumonia — EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health
- HIV/AIDS linked to extensively drug resistant TB — EurekAlert! - Breaking News
- New Community Content! — WoW Vault - The Ultimate Resource
Latest news from J Infect Dis Latest Issue:
- Volume 194, number 12: Phase 1 Safety and Immunogenicity Evaluation of a Multiclade HIV-1 Candidate Vaccine Delivered by a Replication-Defective Recombinant Adenovirus Vector
- Volume 194, number 12: Phase 1 Safety and Immunogenicity Evaluation of a Multiclade HIV-1 DNA Candidate Vaccine
- Volume 194, number 12: Quantification of Viral Inactivation by Photochemical Treatment with Amotosalen and UV A Light, Using a Novel Polymerase Chain Reaction Inhibition Method with Preamplification
- Volume 194, number 12: Cyclosporin A Provides No Sustained Immunologic Benefit to Persons with Chronic HIV-1 Infection Starting Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy: Results of a Randomized, Controlled Trial of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group A5138
- Volume 194, number 12: Evaluation of Purified Taenia solium Glycoproteins and Recombinant Antigens in the Serologic Detection of Human and Swine Cysticercosis
- Volume 194, number 12: Phase 1 Clinical Trials of the National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center HIV/AIDS Candidate Vaccines
- Volume 194, number 12: Is There a Safe Age for Vaccinating Infants with Tetravalent Rhesus-Human Reassortant Rotavirus Vaccine?
- Volume 194, number 12: Reply to Gargiullo et al.
- Volume 194, number 12: Human Cytolytic T Cell Recognition of Yersinia pestis Virulence Proteins That Target Innate Immune Responses
- Volume 194, number 12: A Randomized, Partially Blinded Phase 2 Trial of Antiretroviral Therapy, HIV-Specific Immunizations, and Interleukin-2 Cycles to Promote Efficient Control of Viral Replication (ACTG A5024)