Otto M
Rocky Mountain Laboratory, Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, NIAID, NIH, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA.
Peptides. 2001 Oct;22(10):1603-8. doi: 10.1016/s0196-9781(01)00495-8.
The accessory gene regulator (agr) system of staphylococci regulates the expression of virulence factors in response to cell density. The extracellular signaling molecule encoded by this system is a thiolactone-containing pheromone peptide whose primary sequence varies among staphylococcal strains. A post-translational modification of the peptide is believed to be carried out by an enzyme with a novel function, AgrB. Staphylococcal pheromones show cross-inhibiting properties: Pheromones of self and pheromones of non-self induce and suppress the agr response, respectively, and have therefore been proposed as novel anti-staphylococcal drugs. As inhibition of agr leads to diminished expression of toxins, but to increased expression of colonization factors and biofilm formation, their therapeutic potential remains yet to be evaluated in depth.
葡萄球菌的附属基因调节子（agr）系统可根据细胞密度调节毒力因子的表达。该系统编码的细胞外信号分子是一种含硫内酯的信息素肽，其一级序列在葡萄球菌菌株间有所不同。据信该肽的翻译后修饰是由具有新功能的酶AgrB进行的。葡萄球菌信息素具有交叉抑制特性：自身信息素和非自身信息素分别诱导和抑制agr反应，因此已被提议作为新型抗葡萄球菌药物。由于抑制agr会导致毒素表达减少，但会增加定植因子的表达和生物膜形成，其治疗潜力仍有待深入评估。
