Staphylococcus aureus Isolated in Cases of Impetigo Produces Both Epidermolysin A or B and LukE-LukD in 78% of 131 Retrospective and Prospective Cases

Abstract

Clinical symptoms of impetigo and staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome may not only be expressed as the splitting of cell layers within the epidermis but are often accompanied by some localized inflammation. Toxin patterns of Staphylococcus aureus isolates originating from patients with impetigo and also from those with other primary and secondary skin infections in a retrospective isolate collection in France and a prospective isolate collection in French Guiana revealed a significant association (75% of the cases studied) of impetigo with production of at least one of the epidermolysins A and B and the bicomponent leucotoxin LukE-LukD (P < 0.001). However, most of the isolates were able to produce one of the nonubiquitous enterotoxins. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of genomic DNA hydrolyzed with SmaI showed a polymorphism of the two groups of isolates despite the fact that endemic clones were suspected in French Guiana and France. The combination of toxin patterns with PFGE fingerprinting may provide further discrimination among isolates defined in a given cluster or a given pulsotype and account for a specific virulence. The new association of toxins with a clinical syndrome may reveal principles of the pathological process.

Isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantitation Proteomics Analysis of Gene Regulation by SprC in Staphylococcus Aureus

“…A complex family of virulence determinants of S. aureus is the bi-component pore-forming leukocidins which target leukocytes [24]. LukED, one toxin of this family, is mainly responsible for killing leukocyte cells by inducing Ca 2+ -activated transmembrane pores, thus plays a significant role in the ability of S. aureus to avoid host defenses [25][26][27]. Studies showed that LukED is associated with bloodstream infections, bullous impetigo and postantibiotic diarrhea [28].…”

The Bicomponent Pore-Forming Leucocidins of Staphylococcus aureus

“…There is some correlative evidence to suggest that LukED-producing strains are isolated at a greater frequency from patients with impetigo, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, furuncles, and invasive blood-borne infections (104,133,231,232). However, these studies were conducted when the lukED genes were believed to be present in ϳ30% of all S. aureus strains.…”

Staphylococcus aureus toxins – Their functions and genetics

“…sea; selp; sea, selq, selk (Baba, Takeuchi et al 2002;McCarthy, Witney et al 2012) (Choorit, Kaneko et al 1995;Gravet, Couppie et al 2001;Kaneko and Kamio 2004;von Eiff, Friedrich et al 2004;Ventura, Malachowa et al 2010;Dumont, Nygaard et al 2011;Alonzo, Benson et al 2012;Rigby and DeLeo 2012;Vandenesch, Lina et al 2012) …”