Interactions of immunoglobulin G, fibrinogen and fibronectin with Staphylococcus hyicus and Staphylococcus intermedius.

Binding of immunoglobulin G, fibrinogen and fibronectin to 112 cultures of coagulase-positive staphylococci together with 7 of coagulase-negative S. hyicus subsp. chromogenes were investigated. Of the coagulase-positive staphylococcal cultures 45 were S. hyicus subsp. hyicus, 51 S. intermedius and 16 S. aureus. All 45 S. hyicus subsp. hyicus cultures coagulated plasma preparations from pigs and not always those from sheep, rabbits and dogs. Labelled IgG was bound by all cultures of S. hyicus subsp. hyicus and S. aureus, but only by 6 of 51 S. intermedius cultures. Fibrinogen interacted with 28 of the 45 S. hyicus subsp. hyicus cultures, with 17 of the 51 S. intermedius cultures and with S. aureus throughout. Fibronectin reacted with 19 cultures of S. hyicus subsp. hyicus, 11 of S. intermedius and all S. aureus. The binding activities for labelled IgG were more pronounced than those for fibrinogen and fibronectin. None of the 7 cultures of S. hyicus subsp. chromogenes bound any of these plasma proteins. Bindings of fibrinogen and fibronectin to S. hyicus subsp. hyicus and S. intermedius elicited only in part distinct clumping reactions of the staphylococci in the respective plasma proteins.