Advances in two-component signal transduction system VraSR of Staphylococcus / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Staphylococcus utilizes vancomycin-resistance associated sensor/regulator ( VraSR) , a two-component signal transduction system ( TCS) , to sense and respond to cell wall damage and to adapt to environmental changes through regulating transcriptions of downstream genes. It has been indicated that VraSR can regulate the transcription of a series of genes involved in the synthesis of peptidoglycan, drug re-sistance, and virulence in Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus) . A similar two-component system, VraSR, is also present in Staphylococcus epidermidis ( S. epidermidis ) , sharing a high homology with the VraSR of S. aureus. Little is known about the functions of VraSR in S. epidermidis and it is not yet clear what the simi-larities and differences in resistance and pathogenicity are. Based on the previous work of our group, a brief review on the regulation mechanism of staphylococcal VraSR was performed.