Bacterial pathogens under high-tension: Staphylococcus aureus adhesion to von Willebrand factor is activated by force
(2019) Microbial Cell — Vol. 6, n° 7, p. 321-323 (2019)
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- Authors
Viela Bovio, Felipe 
- Abstract
- Attachment of Staphylococcus aureus to platelets and endothelial cells involves binding of bacterial cell sur-face protein A (SpA) to the large plasma glycoprotein von Willebrand factor (vWF). SpA-mediated bacterial adhesion to vWF is controlled by fluid shear stress, yet little is currently known about the underlying molecu-lar mechanism. In a recent publication, we showed that the SpA-vWF interaction is tightly regulated by mechanical force. By means of single-molecule pulling experiments, we found that the SpA-vWF bond is ex-tremely strong, being able to resist forces which large-ly outperform the strength of typical receptor-ligand bonds. In line with flow experiments, strong adhesion is activated by mechanical tension. These results sug-gest that force induces conformational changes in the vWF molecule, from a globular to an extended state, leading to the exposure of cryptic binding sites to which SpA strongly binds. This force-sensitive mecha-nism may largely contribute to help S. aureus bacteria to resist shear stress of flowing blood during infection.
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Citations
Viela Bovio, F., Speziale, P., Pietrocola, G., & Dufrêne, Y. (2019). Bacterial pathogens under high-tension: Staphylococcus aureus adhesion to von Willebrand factor is activated by force. Microbial Cell, 6(7), 321-323. https://doi.org/10.15698/mic2019.07.684 (Original work published 2019)