Localization of Staphylococcus aureus in tissue from the nasal vestibule in healthy carriers.

Background: Colonization of the body is an important step in Staphylococcus aureus infection. S. aureus colonizes skin and mucous membranes in humans and several animal species.

Allergic disease and Staphylococcus aureus carriage in adolescents in the Arctic region of Norway.

Background: Allergic diseases are common chronic diseases in children and adolescents, but limited epidemiological data are available during transition into adulthood. Nasal Staphylococcus aureus carriage has been linked to increased prevalence of allergic disease. The objective of this study was to define the prevalence of allergic diseases in adolescents above the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway and to study the associations of S.

The interaction between Staphylococcus aureus SdrD and desmoglein 1 is important for adhesion to host cells.

Staphylococcus aureus is known as a frequent colonizer of the skin and mucosa. Among bacterial factors involved in colonization are adhesins such as the microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules (MSCRAMMs). Serine aspartate repeat containing protein D (SdrD) is involved in adhesion to human squamous cells isolated from the nose.

Whole-genome sequencing reveals clonal expansion of multiresistant Staphylococcus haemolyticus in European hospitals.

Objectives: Staphylococcus haemolyticus is an emerging cause of nosocomial infections, primarily affecting immunocompromised patients. A comparative genomic analysis was performed on clinical S. haemolyticus isolates to investigate their genetic relationship and explore the coding sequences with respect to antimicrobial resistance determinants and putative hospital adaptation.

A Staphylococcus aureus TIR domain protein virulence factor blocks TLR2-mediated NF-κB signaling.

Signaling through Toll-like receptors (TLRs), crucial molecules in the induction of host defense responses, requires adaptor proteins that contain a Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain. The pathogen Staphylococcus aureus produces several innate immune-evasion molecules that interfere with the host's innate immune response. A database search analysis suggested the presence of a gene encoding a homologue of the human TIR domain in S.

Staphylococcus aureus nasal isolates from healthy individuals cause highly variable host cell responses in vitro: the Tromsø Staph and Skin Study.

Studies on Staphylococcus aureus populations colonizing the nasal cavity reveal that some bacterial strains are more common, while others are rarely found. This study included five isolates with the most common spa types and five isolates with rare spa types from healthy population. Selected phenotypic traits and genomic content among nasal S.

Obesity and Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization among women and men in a general population.

Background: Obesity and diabetes mellitus (DM) have been linked to increased risk of infections, and Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization is a major risk factor for developing infections with the microbe. We therefore sought to find whether body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) could be associated with S. aureus colonization independent of DM.

Staphylococcus aureus mutants lacking cell wall-bound protein A found in isolates from bacteraemia, MRSA infection and a healthy nasal carrier.

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen and a multitude of virulence factors enables it to cause infections, from superficial lesions to life-threatening systemic conditions. Staphylococcal protein A (SpA) is a surface protein contributing to S. aureus pathogenesis by interfering with immune responses and activating inflammation.

Appropriate time for test-of-cure when diagnosing gonorrhoea with a nucleic acid amplification test.

Culture is commonly regarded as the gold standard for diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. However, nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) have rapidly replaced culture for diagnostics in many settings. The aim of the present study was to investigate the appropriate time for test-of-cure (TOC) when NAATs are used for diagnosis of gonorrhoea.

Age- and gender-associated Staphylococcus aureus spa types found among nasal carriers in a general population: the Tromso Staph and Skin Study.

Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriers risk autoinfection; however, knowledge about the factors that make specific strains successful colonizers is limited. This study was undertaken to identify the most successful S. aureus clones in nasal carriers and compare their distribution among host groups.

Clinical validation of a real-time polymerase chain reaction detection of Neisseria gonorrheae porA pseudogene versus culture techniques.

Background: Diagnosing Neisseria gonorrheae using nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) might increase the sensitivity, compared to cultivation. However, using NAATs has also been problematic mainly due to the close genetic relationships between different Neisseria species, resulting in false positive diagnoses. This study was conducted to clinically validate a previously published real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method targeting the porA pseudogene in N.

Multiple staphylococcal cassette chromosomes and allelic variants of cassette chromosome recombinases in Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci from Norway.

We investigated the nature of the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) elements and cognate insertion sites in a collection of 42 clinical staphylococcal isolates of various species from Norway. The ccr and mec genes and the attachment sites (attL/attR) were identified by PCR, Southern blot hybridization, and DNA sequencing. We found 10 possibly new SCCmec types and one previously unreported variant of SCCmec type III (mec complex A, ccrAB3, and ccrC7) in Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, and Staphylococcus hominis.

A fast real-time polymerase chain reaction method for sensitive and specific detection of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae porA pseudogene.

Ever since the advent of molecular methods, the diagnostics of Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been troubled by false negative and false positive results compared with culture. Commensal Neisseria species and Neisseria meningitidis are closely related to N. gonorrhoeae and may cross-react when using molecular tests comprising too-low specificity.

Dissemination of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clones in northern Norway: sequence types 8 and 80 predominate.

Increasing frequencies of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain isolation have been reported from many countries. The overall prevalence of MRSA in Norway is still very low. MRSA isolates (n = 67) detected between 1995 and 2003 in northern Norway were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multilocus sequence typing, and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing.

Local variants of Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec in sporadic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococci: evidence of horizontal gene transfer?

The mecA gene in Staphylococcus aureus is located on the genetic element staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC). Different SCCmecs have been classified according to their putative recombinase genes (ccrA and ccrB) and overall genetic composition. Clinical isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS; n = 39) and S.