Staphylococcus aureus Strains Used in the Present Study.

Note: Different S. aureus strains were tested for invasiveness in pBMECs by a flow cytometry invasion assay. Results represent means ± standard errors of the mean (SEM) for 3 independent experiments performed in duplicate. After 4 h, hemolytic activity due to toxin expression was determined on columbia blood agar plates. Results are listed semiquantitatively in 3 categories: –, no hemolysis; +, effective hemolysis; ++, highly effective hemolysis. MRSA, methicillin-resistant S. aureus.