Neutrophil lysis after phagocytosis is a process potentially important in the pathogenesis of community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) infection. The mechanism for this process is not currently known. Therefore, to better understand CA-MRSA virulence we used human oligonucleotide microarrays to investigate the mechanism underlying enhanced PMN lysis that occurs after phagocytosis of CA-MRSA.In order to examine the effect of S. aureus on the neutrophil transcriptome and to elucidate any possible differences in this effect between hospital- and community-associated S. aureus, we performed microarray expression analysis on human neutrophils treated with hospital- and community-associated S. aureus.

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) were isolated from the blood of healthy donors. Control and S. aureus-exposed PMNs were incubated at 37C for 1, 2, 3 or 6 hours.