Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) phagocytose and kill individual bacteria but are far less efficient when challenged with bacterial aggregates. Consequently, growth within a biofilm affords Staphylococcus aureus some protection, but PMN penetrate S. aureus biofilms and phagocytose bacteria, suggesting that enzymes released through neutrophil degranulation degrade biofilms into fragments small enough for phagocytosis. Here we show that the capacity of PMN to invade biofilms depended largely on the activity of secreted cathepsin G.

中文翻译：

---

组织蛋白酶 G 降解金黄色葡萄球菌生物膜

多形核白细胞 (PMN) 吞噬并杀死单个细菌，但在受到细菌聚集体的攻击时效率要低得多。因此，生物膜内的生长为金黄色葡萄球菌提供了一些保护，但 PMN 穿透了金黄色葡萄球菌生物膜和吞噬细菌，这表明通过中性粒细胞脱粒释放的酶将生物膜降解成足够小的碎片以进行吞噬。在这里，我们表明 PMN 侵入生物膜的能力在很大程度上取决于分泌的组织蛋白酶 G 的活性。