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Physiology

Theses and Dissertations

2009

Cwa

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Examination Of Platelet Adhesion By Streptococcus Sanguinis, Brian Mahoney Nov 2009

Examination Of Platelet Adhesion By Streptococcus Sanguinis, Brian Mahoney

Theses and Dissertations

Streptococcus sanguinis is a leading cause of infective endocarditis. Bacterial adhesion to platelets is likely important in the pathogenesis of infective endocarditis. Bacterial cell wall-anchored (Cwa) proteins may mediate this adhesion. To begin to test this hypothesis, S. sanguinis adhesion to platelets was examined in vitro. The requirement of 12 Cwa proteins for S. sanguinis-platelet adhesion was individually assessed, measuring adhesion of purified platelets to polystyrene wells coated with S. sanguinis strain SK36 or 12 isogenic Cwa protein mutants. Significantly fewer platelets adhered to wells coated with one mutant strain, VT1614. However, results of a whole-cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) …