Polyelectrolyte nature of bacterial teichoic acids.

Variations in the degree of D-Alanylation of teichoic acids in Lactococcus lactis alter resistance to cationic antimicrobials but have no effect on bacterial surface hydrophobicity and charge.

An increase of the degree of d-alanylation of teichoic acids in Lactococcus lactis resulted in a significant increase of bacterial resistance toward the cationic antimicrobials nisin and lysozyme, whereas the absence of D-alanylation led to a decreased resistance toward the same compounds. In contrast, the same variations of the D-alanylation degree did not modify bacterial cell surface charge ...

Predominant IL-12 Production Induced by Bacterial Teichoic Acids Reverse

Teichoic acids are temporal and spatial regulators of peptidoglycan cross-linking in Staphylococcus aureus.

The cell wall of Staphylococcus aureus is characterized by an extremely high degree of cross-linking within its peptidoglycan (PGN). Penicillin-binding protein 4 (PBP4) is required for the synthesis of this highly cross-linked peptidoglycan. We found that wall teichoic acids, glycopolymers attached to the peptidoglycan and important for virulence in Gram-positive bacteria, act as temporal and s...

Wall teichoic acid protects Staphylococcus aureus against antimicrobial fatty acids from human skin.

Skin-colonizing gram-positive bacteria produce wall teichoic acids (WTAs) or related glycopolymers for unclear reasons. Using a WTA-deficient Staphylococcus aureus mutant, we demonstrated that WTA confers resistance to antimicrobial fatty acids from human sebaceous glands by preventing fatty acid binding. Thus, WTA is probably important for bacterial skin colonization.

Teichoic acids: antigenic determinants, chain separation, and their location in the cell wall.

Teichoic acids are linear polymers of glycerophosphate or ribitolphosphate carrying sugar or D-alanine substituents.1 Their chain length varies between 8 and 50 units and is dependent upon the isolation technique. Some occur in bacterial cell walls where they can make up between 8 and 50 per cent of the wall's dry weight; some, the so-called "intracellular" ones, in an ill-defined area between ...