Linked Life Data

15255185

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/15255185

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
2004-7-16
pubmed:abstractText
Staphylococcus epidermidis, a Gram-positive, coagulase-negative bacterium is a predominant inhabitant of human skin and mucous membranes. Recently, however, it has become one of the most important agents of hospital-acquired bacteriemia, as it has been found to be responsible for surgical wound infections developed in individuals with indwelling catheters or prosthetic devices, as well as in immunosupressed or neutropenic patients. Despite their medical significance, little is known about proteolytic enzymes of S. epidermidis and their possible contribution to the bacterium's pathogenicity; however, it is likely that they function as virulence factors in a manner similar to that proposed for the proteases of Staphylococcus aureus. Here we describe the purification of a cell wall-associated cysteine protease from S. epidermidis, its biochemical properties and specificity. A homology search using N-terminal sequence data revealed similarity to staphopain A (ScpA) and staphopain B (SspB), cysteine proteases from S. aureus. Moreover, the gene encoding S. epidermidis cysteine protease (Ecp) and a downstream gene coding for a putative inhibitor of the protease form an operon structure which resembles that of staphopain A in S. aureus. The active cysteine protease was detected on the bacterial cell surface as well as in the culture media and is apparently produced in a growth phase-dependent manner, with initial expression occurring in the mid-logarithmic phase. This enzyme, with elastinolytic properties, as well as the ability to cleave alpha1PI, fibrinogen and fibronectin, may possibly contribute to the invasiveness and pathogenic potential of S. epidermidis.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
1431-6730
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
385
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
525-35
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2004
pubmed:articleTitle
Growth phase-dependent production of a cell wall-associated elastinolytic cysteine proteinase by Staphylococcus epidermidis.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Krakow, Poland.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't