Abstract
Coagulase-negative staphylococci and its subtype Staphylococcus epidermidis are major indigenous Gram-positive inhabitants of the human skin. Colonization occurs in direct connection with birth and terrestrial adaptation. This study focuses on factors that may influence skin colonization of the newborn infant that relates to the immune status of both the bacteria and the host. Skin is an effective barrier against bacteria, and this function is partly mediated by the presence of antimicrobial peptides including human cathelicidin peptide LL37. Gram-positive bacteria have been described to have adhesive pili on their surface that mediates specific attachment to the host. Here, we identify, by negative staining transmission electron microscopy (EM), two different types of pilus-like structures commonly expressed on S. epidermidis isolated from newborn infants. We also show that the cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide LL37, constitutively expressed in the skin barrier of the newborn, significantly inhibited growth of S. epidermidis indicating its importance for the ecological stability of the skin microbiota. Further studies are required to elucidate molecular mechanisms of host-microbe interactions, both for the maintenance of a mutually beneficial homeostatic relationship and for the protection of self when it results in overt disease.
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Abbreviations
- Aap:
-
accumulation-associated protein
- BHI:
-
brain-heart infusion
- CI:
-
clinical isolate
- CoNS:
-
coagulase-negative staphylococci
- EM:
-
electron microscopy
- Fbe:
-
fibrinogen-binding protein
- MHB:
-
Mueller Hinton broth
- MIC:
-
minimal inhibitory concentration
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Acknowledgements
We thank Johannes Ries, PhD, Department of Bacteriology, Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, Stockholm, Sweden for excellent laboratory advice.
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Supported by Frimurarbarnhuset Stockholm, Sällskapet Barnavård, Stiftelsen Samariten, and Crown Princess Lovisa Memory Foundation.
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Nelson, A., Hultenby, K., Hell, É. et al. Staphylococcus epidermidis Isolated From Newborn Infants Express Pilus-Like Structures and Are Inhibited by the Cathelicidin-Derived Antimicrobial Peptide LL37. Pediatr Res 66, 174–178 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1203/PDR.0b013e3181a9d80c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/PDR.0b013e3181a9d80c
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