Advances in extracellular vesicles of Staphylococcus spp.

Abstract:

Extracellular vesicles (EV) are particles with natural nanostructure, which are composed of biomolecules such as protein and nucleic acid wrapped in a lipid bilayer. EV is a means of cell-free communication between cells and affect cell-to-cell communication by transmitting large quantities of biomolecules, including genetic information. In addition, EV has been associated with many phenomena, such as immune regulation, intercellular competition, horizontal gene transfer, and pathogenicity. EVs secreted by Gram-positive bacteria carry a wide variety of compounds that play important roles in bacterial competition, survival, invasion, antibiotic resistance and infection. Currently, the studies on bacterial EVs mainly focused on Gram-negative bacteria, and few reports on Gram-positive bacteria in which the EVs produced by Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are the most frequently investigated. In this review, the chemical composition, influencing factors, functions and clinical application of Staphylococcal EVs are summarized.