MRSA

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) causes significant illness and death in children and adults. There is a range of clinical entities associated with MRSA. Some patients have a single episode of skin or soft tissue infection (SSTI) and remain free from disease after drainage and antibiotic therapy, while others have repeated SSTI over a period of months to several years. Most striking, however, is the small but very concerning subgroup who present with invasive, life-threatening infections such as sepsis, necrotizing pneumonia, and deep muscle or bone abscesses. The influence of interaction between host immune responses and the arsenal of bacterial virulence factors on outcomes of community acquisition of MRSA is largely unknown. Our objective is to seek a biological explanation for the wide spectrum of disease manifestations caused by CA-MRSA and to understand the presentation of severe infections in otherwise healthy individuals. We hypothesize that the outcome of community MRSA acquisition is determined by interactions between the genetic composition of the infecting strain and polymorphisms in relevant host genes involved in immune and inflammatory responses.

Modified from the grant application to NHGRI

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Contacts

Name	Affiliation
Patrick Minx	The Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine

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