There is ample evidence that S. aureus capsule polysaccharide (CP) promotes virulence. Loss of capsule expression, however, may lead to S. aureus persistence in the chronically infected host. This study was conducted to determine the relative prevalence of non-encapsulated S. aureus in patients with chronic and acute osteomyelitis. We demonstrated that non-encapsulated S. aureus are more frequently isolated from patients with chronic osteomyelitis, compared with those with acute osteomyelitis, suggesting that loss of CP expression may be advantageous to S. aureus during chronic infection. Our findings in multiple S. aureus isolates from individual patients allowed us to suggest that selection of non-encapsulated S. aureus may have likely occurred in the patient during long term bone infection.
Tiny genetic change can make MRSA chronic
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