Mancini, Stefano Oechslin, Frank Menzi, Carmen Que, Yok Ai Claes, Jorien Heying, Ruth Veloso, Tiago Rafael Vanassche, Thomas Missiakas, Dominique Schneewind, Olaf Moreillon, Philippe Entenza, José Manuel Marginal role of von Willebrand factor-binding protein and coagulase in the initiation of endocarditis in rats with catheter-induced aortic vegetations <p><i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> is the leading cause of infective endocarditis (IE). While the role of <i>S. aureus</i> cell-wall associated protein clumping factor A (ClfA) in promoting IE has been already demonstrated, that of the secreted plasma-clotting factors staphylocoagulase (Coa) and von Willebrand factor-binding protein (vWbp) has not yet been elucidated. We investigated the role of Coa and vWbp in IE initiation in rats with catheter-induced aortic vegetations, using <i>Lactococcus lactis</i> expressing <i>coa, vWbp, clfA</i> or <i>vWbp/clfA</i>, and <i>S. aureus</i> Newman Δ<i>coa</i>, Δ<i>vWbp</i>, Δ<i>clfA or</i> Δ<i>coa/</i>Δ<i>vWbp/</i>Δ<i>clfA</i> mutants. <i>vWbp</i>-expression increased <i>L. lactis</i> valve infection compared to parent and <i>coa</i>-expressing strains (incidence: 62%, versus 0% and 13%, respectively; <i>P </i>< 0.01). Likewise, expression of <i>clfA</i> increased <i>L. lactis</i> infectivity (incidence: 80%), which was not further affected by co-expression of <i>vWbp</i>. In symmetry, deletion of the <i>coa</i> or <i>vWbp</i> genes in <i>S. aureus</i> did not decrease infectivity (incidence: 68 and 64%, respectively) whereas deletion of <i>clfA</i> did decrease valve infection (incidence: 45%; <i>P </i>= 0.03 versus parent), which was not further affected by the triple deletion Δ<i>coa/</i>Δ<i>vWbp/</i>Δ<i>clfA</i> (incidence: 36%; <i>P </i>> 0.05 versus Δ<i>clfA</i> mutant). Coa does not support the initial colonization of IE (in <i>L. lactis</i>) without other key virulence factors and vWbp contributes to initiation of IE (in <i>L. lactis</i>) but is marginal in the present of ClfA.</p> Clumping factor A;endocarditis;staphylocoagulase;Staphylococcus aureus;von Willebrand factor-binding protein 2018-10-13
    https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Marginal_Role_of_von_Willebrand_Factor-Binding_Protein_and_Coagulase_in_the_Initiation_of_Endocarditis_in_Rats_with_Catheter-Induced_Aortic_Vegetations/7160423
10.6084/m9.figshare.7160423.v2