1994 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 1-16
We examined the adherence to epithelial cells, hemagglutinating activity, production of hydrolytic enzymes and enterotoxins in methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCNS).
A significant number of MRCNS strains tested adhered to epithelial cell. The average number of attached bacteria per epithelial cell in mannitol-positive MRCNS was approximately 332. In more than half of the mannitol-negative MRCNS strains, the average number of attached bacteria exceeded 500 per epithelial cell. Strong adherence to epithelial cells (more than 1,000/cell) was seen in 15.6% of the MRCNS, indicating that they may adhere better to human buccal epithelial cells than methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Some strains agglutinated weakly with rabbit erythrocytes, although many showed no adhesion. No correlation was found between adherence to epithelial cells and hemagglutination activity. These results suggest that different adhesins against both functions may exist in MRCNS.
Many strains produced lipase, lecithinase, DNase, β-lactamase or hyaluronidase. Mannitol-positive strains produced hyaluronidase but not lecithinase. While more than half the mannitol-negative strains produced lecithinase, none produced hyaluronidase.
These results indicate that the pathogenic potential of MRCNS may be equivalent to that of MRSA.
