Nonstable<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>Small-Colony Variants Are Induced by Low pH and Sensitized to Antimicrobial Therapy by Phagolysosomal Alkalinization

Abstract

Our results show that the acidic environment favors formation of nonstable SCVs, which reflect the SCVs found in clinics. They also provide evidence that treatment with alkalinizing agents, together with antibiotics, may provide a novel translational strategy for eradicating persisting intracellular reservoirs of staphylococci. This approach may also be extended to other intracellular bacteria.