Hart Mark E, Hart Morgan J, Roop Anna J
Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA.
Int J Microbiol. 2009;2009:614371. doi: 10.1155/2009/614371. Epub 2010 Jan 10.
Hyaluronidases degrade hyaluronic acid, a major polysaccharide of the extracellular matrix of tissues, and are considered important for virulence in a number of Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of hyaluronidase among clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus and among other Staphylococcus species. Spent media and chromosomal DNA were assessed for hyaluronidase activity and the absence or presence of a hyaluronidase gene (hysA) by Southern analysis, respectively. All S. aureus strains examined exhibited at least one hybridizing band (half of the strains exhibited two or more hybridizing bands) when probed for hysA and all but three of these strains produced hyaluronidase. In contrast, none of the type strains of 19 other species exhibited either hyaluronidase activity or hybridizing bands when probed for hysA. These data support the hypothesis that among members of the Staphylococcus genus only strains of S. aureus possess the enzyme hyaluronidase. This would suggest that hyaluronidase represents yet another potential virulence factor employed by S. aureus to cause disease and may represent a diagnostically important characteristic for distinguishing S. aureus from other members of this genus.
透明质酸酶可降解透明质酸，透明质酸是组织细胞外基质的一种主要多糖，在许多革兰氏阳性菌和革兰氏阴性菌中，透明质酸酶被认为对其致病性很重要。本研究的目的是确定金黄色葡萄球菌临床菌株及其他葡萄球菌属菌种中透明质酸酶的流行情况。分别通过Southern分析评估用过的培养基和染色体DNA的透明质酸酶活性以及透明质酸酶基因（hysA）的有无。检测的所有金黄色葡萄球菌菌株在用hysA探针检测时均显示至少一条杂交带（一半的菌株显示两条或更多条杂交带），并且除了三株菌株外，其他所有菌株均产生透明质酸酶。相比之下，在用hysA探针检测时，其他19个菌种的标准菌株均未显示透明质酸酶活性或杂交带。这些数据支持了这样一种假说，即在葡萄球菌属成员中，只有金黄色葡萄球菌菌株拥有透明质酸酶。这表明透明质酸酶是金黄色葡萄球菌用来致病的另一种潜在毒力因子，并且可能是将金黄色葡萄球菌与该属其他成员区分开来的一个重要诊断特征。
