Staphylococcus aureus can cause multiple forms of infections ranging from superficial skin infections to food poisoning and life-threatening infections. The organism has several ways to divert the effectiveness of the immune system: secreting immune modulating proteins that inhibit complement activation and neutrophil chemotaxis or lysis, modulating the sensitivity to cationic antimicrobial peptides (such as defensin) by increasing the positive net charge of its cytoplasmic membrane, and expression of superantigens that prevent development of a normal immune response or cause an emetic response when ingested.

Human Diseases; Infectious disease: bacterial
BRITE hierarchy

PMID:20178484

Foster TJ

Colonization and infection of the human host by staphylococci: adhesion, survival and immune evasion.

Vet Dermatol 20:456-70 (2009)
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Nat Rev Microbiol 3:948-58 (2005)
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Trends Microbiol 13:596-601 (2005)
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Torres BA, Kominsky S, Perrin GQ, Hobeika AC, Johnson HM

Superantigens: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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S. aureus IgG-binding proteins SpA and Sbi: host specificity and mechanisms of immune complex formation.

Mol Immunol 45:1600-11 (2008)
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Confounding B-cell defences: lessons from a staphylococcal superantigen.

Nat Rev Immunol 6:465-75 (2006)
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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101:11392-7 (2004)
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The Staphylococcus aureus protein Sbi acts as a complement inhibitor and forms a tripartite complex with host complement Factor H and C3b.

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Rooijakkers SH, Wu J, Ruyken M, van Domselaar R, Planken KL, Tzekou A, Ricklin D, Lambris JD, Janssen BJ, van Strijp JA, Gros P

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Nat Immunol 10:721-7 (2009)
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Jongerius I, Kohl J, Pandey MK, Ruyken M, van Kessel KP, van Strijp JA, Rooijakkers SH

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J Exp Med 204:2461-71 (2007)
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Hair PS, Ward MD, Semmes OJ, Foster TJ, Cunnion KM

Staphylococcus aureus clumping factor A binds to complement regulator factor I and increases factor I cleavage of C3b.

J Infect Dis 198:125-33 (2008)
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Higgins J, Loughman A, van Kessel KP, van Strijp JA, Foster TJ

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FEMS Microbiol Lett 258:290-6 (2006)
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Laursen NS, Gordon N, Hermans S, Lorenz N, Jackson N, Wines B, Spillner E, Christensen JB, Jensen M, Fredslund F, Bjerre M, Sottrup-Jensen L, Fraser JD, Andersen GR

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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107:3681-6 (2010)
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Ramsland PA, Willoughby N, Trist HM, Farrugia W, Hogarth PM, Fraser JD, Wines BD

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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104:15051-6 (2007)
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de Haas CJ, Veldkamp KE, Peschel A, Weerkamp F, Van Wamel WJ, Heezius EC, Poppelier MJ, Van Kessel KP, van Strijp JA

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J Exp Med 199:687-95 (2004)
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J Immunol 177:8017-26 (2006)
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PMID:17132726

Bestebroer J, Poppelier MJ, Ulfman LH, Lenting PJ, Denis CV, van Kessel KP, van Strijp JA, de Haas CJ

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Blood 109:2936-43 (2007)
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Chung MC, Wines BD, Baker H, Langley RJ, Baker EN, Fraser JD

The crystal structure of staphylococcal superantigen-like protein 11 in complex with sialyl Lewis X reveals the mechanism for cell binding and immune inhibition.

Mol Microbiol 66:1342-55 (2007)
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Nat Med 8:687-93 (2002)
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Antimicrob Agents Chemother 48:4673-9 (2004)
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PMID:18837785

Fraser JD, Proft T

The bacterial superantigen and superantigen-like proteins.

Immunol Rev 225:226-43 (2008)
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PMID:12228315

Yamaguchi T, Nishifuji K, Sasaki M, Fudaba Y, Aepfelbacher M, Takata T, Ohara M, Komatsuzawa H, Amagai M, Sugai M

Identification of the Staphylococcus aureus etd pathogenicity island which encodes a novel exfoliative toxin, ETD, and EDIN-B.

Infect Immun 70:5835-45 (2002)
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PMID:16710608

Pazgier M, Hoover DM, Yang D, Lu W, Lubkowski J

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Cell Mol Life Sci 63:1294-313 (2006)
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PMID:16184199

Zhang Q, Mousdicas N, Yi Q, Al-Hassani M, Billings SD, Perkins SM, Howard KM, Ishii S, Shimizu T, Travers JB

Staphylococcal lipoteichoic acid inhibits delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions via the platelet-activating factor receptor.

J Clin Invest 115:2855-61 (2005)
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PMID:15372083

Lehrer RI

Primate defensins.

Nat Rev Microbiol 2:727-38 (2004)
DOI:10.1038/nrmicro976