Recombinant Staphylococcus aureus CHIPS protein (His tag)

Supplementary information

This supplementary information is collated from multiple sources and compiled automatically.

CHIPS also known as Chemotaxis Inhibitory Protein of Staphylococcus aureus is a small protein with a molecular mass of approximately 14 kDa. CHIPS is expressed by Staphylococcus aureus and acts mainly in the human immune system. CHIPS binds to C5a receptors on neutrophils and formyl peptide receptors blocking essential chemotactic signals necessary for immune cell recruitment. This mechanism facilitates the bacteria's ability to evade host immune responses.

Biological function summary

As part of the bacterial strategy to evade host defenses CHIPS interrupts the chemotaxis process in the immune response. By blocking the activation of neutrophils CHIPS disrupts normal immune surveillance and inflammatory responses. It operates as part of a larger set of immune-modulatory factors expressed by Staphylococcus aureus allowing the bacterium to persist in host tissues.

Pathways

The inhibition of pathways involving chemotaxis demonstrates CHIPS's role in impeding immune response. CHIPS affects the complement pathway specifically interrupting the interaction between C5a and its receptor C5aR on immune cells. This interaction is important for recruiting immune cells during an inflammatory response. Though not related directly CHIPS also associates functionally with formyl peptide receptors involved in pathways that trigger neutrophil migration linking it indirectly to similar immune response pathways.

CHIPS's activity relates closely to conditions of bacterial infection and sepsis. By hindering neutrophil recruitment CHIPS contributes to increased bacterial virulence making infections more severe and challenging to clear. Furthermore CHIPS interference with immune pathways could exacerbate conditions like inflammatory responses which play roles in disorders like systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). CHIPS interacts with host proteins such as C5a and formyl peptide receptors highlighting its potential impact on immune evasion and pathogenesis during infections.