Hydrodynamic shear and collagen receptor density determine the adhesion capacity of S. aureus to collagen.

Dynamic bacterial adhesion has recently gained significant attention due to its role in the initiation of infectious diseases. Staphylococcus aureus binding to collagen has been shown to be an important event in the pathogenesis of infection. Staphylococcal strains have exhibited wide variability in their level of collagen binding, which may be a result of the collagen receptor expression level. In this study, the dynamic adhesion to collagen for several S. aureus strains was quantified at physiological wall shear rates in a parallel-plate flow chamber. In addition, the collagen receptor density was quantified for each strain. An existing theoretical framework was used to analyze the dependence of adhesion on receptor density. Intrinsic kinetic adhesion parameters were determined and demonstrated to be strong functions of receptor density for all strains. These results suggest that staphylococcal adhesion to collagen is heavily dependent on the receptor density. Using this analytical approach it is possible to predict the dynamic adhesion of S. aureus to collagen in vitro by only measuring the collagen receptor density.