Fibronectin-staphylococcal interactions in endovascular infections.

Fibronectin is a large molecular weight protein that is found coating the surfaces of sites where endovascular damage has occurred. These are also the sites most commonly infected by bacteremic strains of staphylococci. Epidemiologic studies show a correlation between expression of fibronectin receptors and development of invasive infections. In vitro studies using cultured cells, artificial matrices containing fibronectin, blood clots, natural inflammatory matrices, and anti-fibronectin antibodies implicate fibronectin as an important ligand for staphylococcal attachment to host tissues and prosthetic devices. In the rat endocarditis model, S. aureus strains that lack the fibronectin receptor due to site-directed mutagenesis were unable to colonize the traumatized heart valves. These data suggest that the fibronectin receptor on staphylococci is important in the pathogenesis of endovascular infections. Because the fibronectin receptor is widely expressed on pathogenic of staphylococci, a broadly protective vaccine against S. aureus might be possible.