Collagen Receptor of Staphylococcus aureus

Development of new antimicrobial agents and improved public health conditions have not substantially reduced the frequency of infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococci are the leading cause of osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, endocarditis, wound and foreign body infections. While, as with many other bacteria, increasing antibiotic resistance of S. aureus strains is notable, it is not the major cause of failure in the treatment of staphylococcal infections. What constitutes the challenge is that staphylococci may resist treatment with conventional antimicrobial agents because of difficulties in achieving and maintaining therapeutically active concentrations of antibiotics in tissues which are either poorly vascularized (like bone) or harbor colonies of bacteria where diffusion is impaired (such as biofilms on surgical implants). Paradoxically, advances in the field of medical therapy have contributed to a steady increase of in the number of infections caused by coagulase-positive and -negative staphylococci by creating more situations in which these opportunistic pathogens find a suitable environment to multiply.