Small Colony Variants in Staphylococcal Infections: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications

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 pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 1998-09, Vol.27 (3), p.419-422
Main Authors: Proctor, Richard A., Peters, Georg
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aminoglycosides
Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacokinetics
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Antibiotics
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Biosynthesis
Cystic fibrosis
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Electron Transport
Electrons
Endothelial cells
Forecasting
Genetic Variation
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infections
Infectious diseases
Medical sciences
Phenotype
Staphylococcal infections
Staphylococcal Infections - drug therapy
Staphylococcal Infections - immunology
Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology
Staphylococcal infections, streptococcal infections, pneumococcal infections
Staphylococcus
Staphylococcus aureus
Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects
Staphylococcus aureus - genetics
Staphylococcus aureus - immunology
State-of-the-Art Clinical Article
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1086/514706