An Investigation into the Antibiotic Protection Conferred from Synovial Fluid Induced Aggregation of Staphylococcus aureus
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Date
2023-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Numerous groups have reported on the rapid staphylococcal aggregation that occurs in synovial fluid (SF). It has been hypothesized that this aggregation provides the initial protection from antimicrobials prior to the development of a biofilm. Previous work from our group and others derived that large, free-floating Staphylococcus aureus aggregates formed under fluid flow display significant recalcitrance when exposed to gentamicin. In the following work, we used a bioluminescent strain of S. aureus to determine that aggregate formation provides long-lived protection from antibiotic challenges. Further, we determined both the aggregate size threshold and aggregation time required to provide the protective phenotype. Building off previous work stressing the importance of fibrinogen binding for macroscopic aggregation, we determined that fibrinogen alone is not capable of generating a protective phenotype. Finally, we report that disrupting aggregated bacteria returns them to their native susceptible state and that future therapeutics targeted towards disruption would be an effective treatment.
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Keywords
Biofilms, Aggregates, Antibiotic Tolerance, Staphylococcus aureus, Synovial Fluid