SOME BIOCHEMICAL-PROPERTIES OF THE COMPONENTS OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS BINDING TO HUMAN PLATELETS

The binding properties of Staphylococcus aureus in relation to human p latelets were investigated. Protease digestion (pronase E, proteinase K, trypsin), heat treatment (80 degrees C, 30 min), and sonication for 5 min significantly reduced the binding abilities of the staphylococc al cells to 0% (p <.01), 50 +/- 5% (p <.05), and 38 +/- 9% (p <.05), r espectively, while mixed glycosidases did not. Inhibition experiments indicated that protein A and various sugars were ineffective. A bindin g study using biotinylated cell surface fractions extracted from the w hole cells of S. aureus indicated that the proteins having apparent mo lecular weights of 14 400 and 16 500 estimated by sodium dodecylsulfat e-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were involved in the binding betw een S. aureus and human platelets.