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Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery - British Volume, Vol 85-B, Issue 6, 918-921.
doi: 10.1302/0301-620X.85B6.13509  
Copyright © 2003 by British Editorial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery
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IntracellularStaphylococcus aureus

A MECHANISM FOR THE INDOLENCE OF OSTEOMYELITIS

J. K. Ellington, MS; M. Harris, MD, FACS, Professor; L. Webb, MD, Professor; B. Smith, PhD; and T. Smith, PhD

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Centre Boulevard, Winston Salem, North Carolina 27103, USA.

K. Tan, PhD

Department of Life Science, Winston Salem State University, 601 Martin Luther King Drive, Winston Salem, North Carolina 27110, USA.

M. Hudson, PhD

Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Boulevard, Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA.

Correspondence should be sent to Professor M. Harris.

Staphylococcus aureus is the bacterial pathogen which is responsible for approximately 80% of all cases of human osteomyelitis. It can invade and remain within osteoblasts. The fate of intracellular Staph. aureus after the death of the osteoblast has not been documented.

We exposed human osteoblasts to Staph. aureus. After infection, the osteoblasts were either lysed with Triton X-100 or trypsinised. The bacteria released from both the trypsinised and lysed osteoblasts were cultured and counted. Colonies of the recovered bacteria were then introduced to additional cultures of human osteoblasts.

The number of intracellular Staph. aureus recovered from the two techniques was equivalent. Staph. aureus recovered from time zero and 24 hours after infection, followed by lysis/trypsinisation, were capable of invading a second culture of human osteoblasts.

Our findings indicate that dead or dying osteoblasts are capable of releasing viable Staph. aureus and that Staph. aureus released from dying or dead osteoblasts is capable of reinfecting human osteoblasts in culture.






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Hip, Knee, Trauma, Upper limb, Foot & Ankle, Paediatrics, Oncology, Spine, Arthroplasty, General