Staphylococcus aureus β-hemolysin impairs oxygen transport without causing hemolysis
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection can lead to the occurrence of hypoxia, however, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. β-hemolysin (Hlb) induced hemolysis of red blood cells (RBCs) requires a temperature transition from “hot” to “cold,” a phenomenon not observed under...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
|
| Series: | Virulence |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21505594.2025.2490208 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection can lead to the occurrence of hypoxia, however, the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. β-hemolysin (Hlb) induced hemolysis of red blood cells (RBCs) requires a temperature transition from “hot” to “cold,” a phenomenon not observed under physiological conditions. In this study, we discovered that RBCs treated with Hlb exhibited a high level of intracellular Ca2+ and underwent a shape transformation from biconcave discoid to spherical, which was contingent upon the degradation of sphingomyelin of the cell membrane and led to impaired oxygen transport. The increase in intracellular Ca2+ levels induced by Hlb was dependent on the activation of the ion channel N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. Furthermore, we found that Hlb-induced Ca2+ influx increased the cytoplasmic pH and subsequently attenuated the oxygen release from RBCs, which were also observed in both hlb transgenic mice and a murine model with S. aureus challenge. Our findings reveal a novel role for Hlb as sphingomyelinase in impairing RBC function under non-lytic conditions, shedding light on the mechanism behind hypoxia associated with S. aureus infection. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2150-5594 2150-5608 |