Extracellular Vesicles and Their Role in Staphylococcus aureus Resistance and Virulence

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogen of great importance to clinical and veterinary medicine. Recently, there has been a growing interest in S. aureus extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the pathogenesis of this bacterium. Released by living cells into the extracellular milieu, EVs are membranous structures carrying macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, and metabolites. These structures play several physiological roles and are, among others, considered a mechanism of intercellular communication within S. aureus populations but also in trans kingdom interactions. S. aureus EVs were shown to transport important bacterial survival and virulence factors, such as β-lactamases, toxins, and proteins associated with bacterial adherence to host cells, and to trigger the production of cytokines and promote tissue inflammation. In this chapter, we will review the main studies regarding S. aureus EVs, including their composition and roles in host-pathogen interactions, and the possible applications of EVs for vaccines and therapy development against staphylococcal infections.

SMR peptide antagonizes Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation

“…5 ) as follows: (1) the structural integrity of the biofilm could be compromised through a loss of appropriate folding of scaffolding proteins like amyloid curli. (2) As the SMRwt peptide is capable of EV blockade in both viral infected cells and cancer cells, we postulated that it could similarly affect bacterial intercellular communication networking that is reliant upon EV transmission ( 52 , 53 ).…”

Impact of Environmental Conditions on the Protein Content of Staphylococcus aureus and Its Derived Extracellular Vesicles

“…Yet, despite the variations that were found, the EV core proteome still carries proteins that are linked to virulence (e.g., Ebps, Sbi), metabolism (e.g., Eno, PdhABCD), survival (e.g., FhuD), and resistance (FmtA, PBPs). Many of these elements are also found across several S. aureus strains [23,25] and may play active roles in the infection and pathogenesis of this bacterium. Interestingly, differences in protein abundance were observed when comparing growth phases in WC and EVs.…”

“…The study of EVs is an emerging field in medical and veterinary medicine of S. aureus since several reports have highlighted their contribution to cargo delivery, signaling, and cell-cell communication, contributing to physiological and pathological processes [23]. Indeed, S. aureus EVs carry several virulence factors (e.g., β-lactamases, toxins, adhesins) that exert essential functions, including the transfer of antibiotic resistance to susceptible bacteria, host cell death, immunomodulation, and exacerbation of inflammatory processes [8,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38].…”

Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles in Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer: An Unexplored Territory

“…Microbe-derived EVs have emerged as an important novel research topic in the context of understanding the role of gut microbial communities in human health and disease. The first study of bEVs reported secreted bEVs produced by the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli in cultures in 1966 [164], while EVs from Gram-positive bacteria was first published only in 2009, from Staphylococcus aureus [165]. The reason for the delayed discovery of vesicles from Gram-positive bacteria has been attributed to the thick PG cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria that was assumed to act as a barrier to their release [165].…”