Proctor R A, Peters G
Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Münster, Germany.
Clin Infect Dis. 1998 Sep;27(3):419-22. doi: 10.1086/514706.
The discovery of S. aureus small colony variants as persistent and intracellular has provided new insight into the understanding of pathogenesis associated with staphylococcal diseases. Survival advantages are afforded to SCVs on the basis of their ability to hide within host cells, which provide protection from the immune system and some antibiotics. In addition, because most clinical SCVs are defective in electron transport, their uptake of positively charged antimicrobial substances is reduced. The atypical clinical microbiologic characteristics make identification and susceptibility testing difficult. SCVs have been recovered from patients with unusually persistent infections, particularly those patients with long disease-free intervals, and from patients who are chronically exposed to aminoglycosides and TMP-SMZ, suggesting that these clinical situations are those in which SCVs should be suspected and the clinical laboratory should carefully search for them.
金黄色葡萄球菌小菌落变异株作为持续性和细胞内菌的发现，为理解与葡萄球菌疾病相关的发病机制提供了新的见解。基于其隐藏在宿主细胞内的能力，小菌落变异株具有生存优势，宿主细胞为其提供了免受免疫系统和某些抗生素攻击的保护。此外，由于大多数临床小菌落变异株在电子传递方面存在缺陷，它们对带正电荷抗菌物质的摄取减少。这些非典型的临床微生物学特征使得鉴定和药敏试验变得困难。小菌落变异株已从患有异常持续性感染的患者中分离出来，特别是那些疾病缓解期较长的患者，以及长期接触氨基糖苷类药物和复方新诺明的患者，这表明在这些临床情况下应怀疑存在小菌落变异株，临床实验室应仔细寻找它们。
