|
1
|
Mills KB, Maciag JJ, Wang C, Crawford JA, Enroth TJ, Keim KC, Dufrêne YF, Robinson DA, Fey PD, Herr AB, Horswill AR. Staphylococcus aureus skin colonization is mediated by SasG lectin variation. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.20.567970. [PMID: 38045275 PMCID: PMC10690190 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.20.567970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus causes the majority of skin and soft tissue infections, but this pathogen only transiently colonizes healthy skin. However, this transient skin exposure enables S. aureus to transition to infection. Initial adhesion of S. aureus to skin corneocytes is mediated by surface protein G (SasG). Here, phylogenetic analyses reveal the presence of two major divergent SasG alleles in S. aureus, SasG-I and SasG-II. Structural analyses of SasG-II identified a unique non-aromatic arginine in the binding pocket of the lectin subdomain that mediates adhesion to corneocytes. Atomic force microscopy and corneocyte adhesion assays indicated SasG-II can bind to a broader variety of ligands than SasG-I. Glycosidase treatment resulted in different binding profiles between SasG-I and SasG-II on skin cells. Additionally, SasG-mediated adhesion was recapitulated using differentiated N/TERT keratinocytes. Our findings indicate that SasG-II has evolved to adhere to multiple ligands, conferring a distinct advantage to S. aureus during skin colonization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Krista B. Mills
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Joseph J. Maciag
- Division of Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Can Wang
- Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - John A. Crawford
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA
| | - Timothy J. Enroth
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Klara C. Keim
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Yves F. Dufrêne
- Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - D. Ashley Robinson
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA
- Center for Immunology and Microbial Research, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA
| | - Paul D. Fey
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Andrew B. Herr
- Division of Immunobiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Alexander R. Horswill
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Aurora, CO, USA
| |
Collapse
|