Staphylococcus aureus Alpha-Toxin Disrupts Endothelial-Cell Tight Junctions via Acid Sphingomyelinase and Ceramide.

() infections are among the most common and severe infections, garnering notoriety in an era of increasing resistance to antibiotics. It is therefore important to define molecular mechanisms by which this pathogen attacks host cells. Here, we demonstrate that alpha-toxin, one of the major toxins of , induces activation of acid sphingomyelinase and concomitant release of ceramide in endothelial cells treated with the toxin.