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Project

The role of hemostasis in the pathogenesis of staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis.

Staphylococcus aureus (S aureus) can cause a broad spectrum of serous infections. One of the most serious complications is infective endocarditis (IE), in which vegetations consisting of fibrin, platelets, bacteria and white blood cells are formed on the heart valves. Even despite adequate therapy, the combination of local valve destruction and distant embolic infection results in significant morbidity and mortality. S aureus interferes with both fibrin formation and fibrin resorption through the production of staphylocoagulase and staphylokinase, respectively. As the coagulation system and the innate immune system closely interact, manipulation of hemostasis by bacteria is considered an important virulence factor. This has been demonstrated for streptococcal infection, but has not been studied into detail for S. aureus. In this project we will study the role of coagulation and fibrinolysis in the pathogenesis of S aureusinfection, focusing on infective endocarditis.
Date:1 Oct 2009 →  30 Sep 2014
Keywords:Infective endocarditis, Fibrinolysis, Staphylokinase, Staphylothrombin, Staphylocoagulase, Staphylococcus aureus
Disciplines:Microbiology, Systems biology, Laboratory medicine, Hematology, Cardiac and vascular medicine
Project type:PhD project