Direct detection of Staphylococcus osteoarticular infections by use of Xpert MRSA/SA SSTI real-time PCR.

We evaluated the Xpert MRSA/SA SSTI real-time PCR assay (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA) directly on perioperative bone and joint samples. The sensitivity and specificity for detection of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus were, respectively, 100% and 98.3%, 100% and 100%, and 100% and 95.

Host resistance to lung infection mediated by major vault protein in epithelial cells.

The airway epithelium plays an essential role in innate immunity to lung pathogens. Ribonucleoprotein particles primarily composed of major vault protein (MVP) are highly expressed in cells that encounter xenobiotics. However, a clear biologic function for MVP is not established.