CapB2 is recognized as a tyrosine kinase and is likely a vital factor in extracellular polysaccharide synthesis in Staphylococcus aureus, but its pathogenicity function and regulatory mechanism remain obscure. Here, we demonstrate that CapB2 enhances bacterial virulence in a murine model. Mice infected with the wild type SA75 strain exhibited significantly larger (P < 0.05) skin lesions from days 4 to 7 of infection than those challenged with the capB2 mutant strain. The effect on virulence was reverted by restoring the capB2 mutation to the wild type. The related components of the wild type SA75 cell wall in the capB2 mutant strain (SA75ΔcapB2) were thinner than wild type SA75 strain and the capB2 mutant complemented strain (SA75ΔcapB2-C), which was determined by the transmission electron microscopy. The survival percentages of the wild type strain SA75 and SA75ΔcapB2-C were significantly higher relative to SA75ΔcapB2. The results of qRT-PCR studies also indicated that mutations in regulatory gene sarA led to a drastic increase in capB2 gene transcription, with a 326-fold increase of growth at 6 h compared with the wild type strain, suggesting that sarA is a major negative regulator of capB2 expression. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the expression of CapB2 promotes S. aureus virulence in a mouse model of skin infection, and that capB2 gene transcription is regulated negatively by SarA.
Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus; capB2; regulation; sarA; virulence factor.