Exploring the role of E. faecalis enterococcal polysaccharide antigen (EPA) and lipoproteins in evasion of phagocytosis.

ABSTRACT: Enterococcus faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen frequently causing nosocomial infections. The virulence of this organism is underpinned by its capacity to evade phagocytosis, allowing dissemination in the host. Immune evasion requires a surface polysaccharide produced by all enterococci, known as the enterococcal polysaccharide antigen (EPA). EPA consists of a cell wall-anchored rhamnose backbone substituted by strain-specific polysaccharides called 'decorations', essential for the biological activity of this polymer. However, the structural determinants required for innate immune evasion remain unknown, partly due to a lack of suitable validated assays. Here, we describe a quantitative, in vitro assay to investigate how EPA decorations alter phagocytosis. Using the E. faecalis model st

SUBMITTER: Norwood JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7618083 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature