Salicylic acid enhances Staphylococcus aureus extracellular adhesin protein expression

• Published in: Microbes and infection Vol. 13; no. 12; pp. 1073 - 1080
• Main Authors: Alvarez, Lucía P., Barbagelata, María S., Cheung, Ambrose L., Sordelli, Daniel O., Buzzola, Fernanda R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Masson SAS 01-11-2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Cattle; Cell Line; Epithelial Cells - microbiology; Extracellular adhesin protein; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial - drug effects; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Mutation; Promoter Regions, Genetic - genetics; Protein Kinases - genetics; Protein Kinases - metabolism; RNA, Bacterial - genetics; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA-Binding Proteins - genetics; RNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Salicylic acid; Salicylic Acid - pharmacology; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Species Specificity; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Staphylococcus aureus - physiology; Transcription Factors; Virulence Factors - genetics; Virulence Factors - metabolism; Salicylic acid; Staphylococcus aureus; Extracellular adhesin protein; Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase; Enzyme; Enzyme inhibitor; Protein; Non steroidal antiinflammatory agent; Analgesic; Antipyretic; Bacteria; Micrococcales; Micrococcaceae; Adhesin; Oxidoreductases; Salicylates; Antirheumatic agent
• ISSN: 1286-4579; 1769-714X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2011.06.003

One of the virulence factors required by
Staphylococcus aureus at the early stages of infection is Eap, a secreted adhesin that binds many host proteins and is upregulated by the two-component regulatory system
saeRS. The
S. aureus Newman strain harbors a mutation in
saeS that is thought to be responsible for the high level of Eap expression in this strain. This study was designed to ascertain whether salicylic acid (SAL) affects the expression of Eap and the internalization of
S. aureus into epithelial cells. The strain Newman treated with SAL exhibited increased levels of
eap transcription and protein expression. Furthermore, SAL treatment increased the
eap promoter activity. SAL treatment enhanced Eap expression in the Newman and in other
S. aureus strains that do not carry the mutation in
saeS. Internalization of
S. aureus eap and
sae mutants into the MAC-T epithelial cells was significantly decreased compared with the wild-type counterparts. In conclusion, we demonstrated that a low concentration of SAL increased
S. aureus Eap expression possibly due to enhancement of
sae. SAL may create the conditions for
S. aureus persistence in the host, not only by decreasing the capsular polysaccharide expression as shown before, but also by enhancing Eap expression.