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Cited by 278

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 33 of the 33 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

MRSA epidemic linked to a quickly spreading colonization and virulence determinant

Open access
Li, Min, Du, Xin, Villaruz, Amer E, Diep, Binh An, Wang, Decheng, Song, Yan, Tian, Yueru, Hu, Jinhui, Yu, Fangyou, Lu, Yuan, Otto, Michael·2012·Nature Medicine
DOI 10.1038/nm.2692
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Abstract

The molecular processes underlying epidemic waves of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection are poorly understood. Although a major role has been attributed to the acquisition of virulence determinants by horizontal gene transfer, there are insufficient epidemiological and functional data supporting that concept. We here report the spread of clones containing a previously extremely rare mobile genetic element–encoded gene, sasX. We demonstrate that sasX has a key role in MRSA colonization and pathogenesis, substantially enhancing nasal colonization, lung disease and abscess formation and promoting mechanisms of immune evasion. Moreover, we observed the recent spread of sasX from sequence type 239 (ST239) to invasive clones belonging to other sequence types. Our study identifies sasX as a quickly spreading crucial determinant of MRSA pathogenic success and a promising target for therapeutic interference. Our results provide proof of principle that horizontal gene transfer of key virulence determinants drives MRSA epidemic waves.

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Metadata

Authors
Li, M., Du, X., Villaruz, A. E., Diep, B. A., Wang, D., Song, Y., Tian, Y., Hu, J., Yu, F., Lu, Y., & Otto, M.
Venue
Nature Medicine
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2012-04-22
Volume
18
Issue
5
Pages
816-819
ISSN
  • 1078-8956 (ISSN-L)
  • 1546-170X
DOI
10.1038/nm.2692
OpenAlex
W2094618802
Cited by
278
References
33
FWCI
19.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: MRSA epidemic linked to a quickly spreading colonization and virulence determinant. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/nm.2692
The paper
Li, M., Du, X., Villaruz, A. E., Diep, B. A., Wang, D., Song, Y., Tian, Y., Hu, J., Yu, F., Lu, Y., & Otto, M. (2012). MRSA epidemic linked to a quickly spreading colonization and virulence determinant. Nature Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2692

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Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.