Cathepsin G Degrades Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms

J Infect Dis. 2021 Jun 4;223(11):1865-1869. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa612.

Jeffrey S Kavanaugh ¹, Kevin G Leidal ², William M Nauseef ², Alexander R Horswill ¹ ³

Affiliations

1 Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
2 Inflammation Program, Department of Medicine, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
3 Department of Veterans Affairs, Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Denver, Colorado, USA.

PMID: 32995850 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa612

Abstract

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) phagocytose and kill individual bacteria but are far less efficient when challenged with Bacterial aggregates. Consequently, growth within a biofilm affords Staphylococcus aureus some protection but PMN penetrate S. aureus biofilms and phagocytose bacteria, suggesting that Enzymes released through neutrophil degranulation degrade biofilms into fragments small enough for phagocytosis. Here we show that the capacity of PMN to invade biofilms depended largely on the activity of secreted Cathepsin G.

Keywords

Staphylococcus aureus; biofilm; cathepsin G; polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

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