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Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus by Ribosomal Spacer PCR RS-PCR
Published on: November 4, 2016
Inhibition of alpha-hemolysin expression by resveratrol attenuates Staphylococcus aureus virulence
Feng Tang1, Li Li1, Xian-Mei Meng2
1College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Jinzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Quality and Safety Engineering of Animal Products of Liaoning Province, Jinzhou 121000, PR China.
Abstract:
Staphylococcus aureus is an important zoonotic pathogen that causes a variety of life-threatening diseases. The increasing emergence of drug resistance further complicates the treatment of S. aureus infections. The critical role of alpha-hemolysin (Hla) in virulence renders this toxin an ideal target for the development of anti-infective agents for S. aureus. Here, We found that resveratrol, a natural compound widely found in fruits without antibacterial activity, could effectively inhibit Hla expression via down-regulating the transcription of hla, the gene that encodes Hla, and RNAIII, the effector molecule of the agr system. The addition of resveratrol to a co-culture system of S. aureus and A549 cells significantly alleviated bacteria-mediated cellular injury. Furthermore, treatment with resveratrol effectively protected mice from S. aureus pneumonia. Our results established resveratrol as an effective Hla inhibitor that reduces Hla expression without antimicrobial activity and can be further developed into novel therapeutics against S. aureus infections.
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