Staphylococcal presence alters thrombus formation under physiological shear conditions in whole blood studies.

The ability of platelets to aggregate at a site of injury and form a thrombus is central to normal hemostasis and host survival. Staphylococcus aureus is a major pathogenic organism that has been described as interacting with platelets and promoting platelet aggregation. However, the fundamental effects of bacterial presence on thrombus formation are poorly understood. In this study, we quantify thrombus formation in whole blood in the presence and absence of S. aureus under physiological shear conditions. Using confocal microscopy we observed that S. aureus causes a reduction in thrombus volumes and alters the morphological structure of the growing thrombi.