Chronic exposure to staph bacteria may be risk factor for lupus, Mayo study finds

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-08/mc-cet080812.php

Public release date: 8-Aug-2012
Contact: Sharon Theimer
Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Chronic exposure to even small amounts of staph bacteria could be a risk factor for the chronic inflammatory disease lupus, Mayo Clinic research shows. Staph, short for Staphylococcus aureus, is a germ commonly found on the skin or in the nose, sometimes causing infections. In the Mayo study, mice were exposed to low doses of a protein found in staph and developed a lupus-like disease, with kidney disease and autoantibodies like those found in the blood of lupus patients.

The findings are published online this month in The Journal of Immunology. The next step is to study lupus patients to see if the staph protein in question plays a similar role in humans, says co-author Vaidehi Chowdhary, M.D., a Mayo Clinic rheumatologist.