STUDIES ON THE INTERACTION OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS AND STAPHYLOCOCCUS-EPIDERMIDIS WITH FIBRONECTIN USING SURFACE-PLASMON RESONANCE (BIACORE)

This report provides a new technical approach for studying staphylococ ci adherence. The binding of staphylococci to fibronectin immobilised on a biosensor chip has been detected using surface plasmon resonance. Staphylococcus aureus had a much higher affinity for fibronectin than Staphylococcus epidermidis where binding could only be detected using the more sensitive BIAcore 2000. In the case of S. aureus a mutant st rain which was defective in the expression of its fibronectin-binding proteins (Fbp's) was incapable of binding to fibronectin. In addition, the binding of whole cells of S. aureus to fibronectin was inhibited when the fibronectin coated biosensor chip was pre-treated with purifi ed S. aureus FbpA. Surface plasmon resonance was also capable of study ing bacterial interactions with intact or fragments of fibronectin and has shown that S. aureus preferentially binds to the N-terminal regio n whereas S. epidermidis binds to the C-terminal domain. BIAcore there fore provides us with an alternative method for comparing the interact ion between bacteria and their isolated adhesin(s) for their affinitie s for a putative receptor which has been immobilised on the biosensor chip. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.