Binding of fibronectin to Staphylococcus strains.

Fibronectin, a major protein component of plasma and loose connective tissue has previously been shown to bind to several strains of Staphylococcus aureus. We examined a large number of strains of different species of Staphylococcus with respect to their ability to bind fibronectin. The relative numbers of strains defined as fibronectin-binders among the different species were as follows: S. aureus (22 of 23), S. haemolyticus (5 of 5), S. warneri (8 of 11), S. hyicus (5 of 6), S. hominis (13 of 17), S. saprophyticus (11 of 20), S. epidermidis (4 of 7), and S. simulans (8 of 10). Only three species showed a predominance of nonbinders over binders: S. capitis (4 of 14), S. xylosus (0 of 4), and S. cohnii (3 of 11). These data indicate that staphylococcal species isolated from soft tissue infections frequently have the ability to bind fibronectin and suggest that the ability to bind to this protein may contribute to the virulence of coagulase-positive and coagulase-negative staphylococci.