The first well documented case of acute pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis presenting as the initial manifestation of Streptococcus sanguis endocarditis is reported. The importance of suspecting vertebral osteomyelitis in the presence of disc infection and the diagnostic value of imaging procedures are underlined.

A nonhydrophobic mutant of Streptococcus sanguis FC-1 was isolated which has a greatly diminished capacity for attaching to experimental salivary pellicles on hydroxyapatite surfaces and for aggregating with salivary components. The mutant appears to be defective in the synthesis of fimbriae, as judged by electron microscopic observations and by its inability to exhibit twitching motility.

Cells of Streptococcus sanguis express a collagen-like immunodeterminant (class II antigen) on their cell walls that induces aggregation of platelets in plasma. These platelet aggregation-associated proteins (PAAPs) are recovered in cell-free preparations obtained from cells of S. sanguis after 5 min of sonic or limited trypsin treatment. Pretreatment of platelet-rich plasma with these soluble ...

In Enterococcus faecium 228, vancomycin resistance is encoded on a 55-kilobase conjugative plasmid, pHKK100. This plasmid was transferred with high frequency into susceptible strains of Enterococcus faecalis and conferred responses to pheromones produced by E. faecalis and Streptococcus sanguis. pHKK100 is the first plasmid described that mediates both vancomycin resistance and pheromone response.