Lack of wall teichoic acids in Staphylococcus aureus leads to reduced interactions with endothelial gels and to attenuated virulence in a rabbit model of endocarditis

Abstract

Wall teichoic acids (WTAs) are major surface components of gram-positive bacteria that have recently been shown to play a key role in nasal colonization by Staphylococcus aureus. In the present study, we assessed the impact that WTAs have on endovascular infections by using a WTA-deficient S. aureus mutant (ΔtagO). There were no significant differences detected between the isogenic parental strain (SA113) and the ΔtagO mutant in polymorphonuclear leukocyte-mediated opsonophagocytosis; killing by a prototypic platelet microbicidal protein; or binding to platelets, fibronectin, or fibrinogen. However, compared with the parental strain, the ΔtagO mutant adhered considerably less well to human endothelial cells, especially under flow conditions (70.3% reduction; P