Figure 1. MRSA induces a pro-coagulant response in whole blood.

MRSA was incubated in whole blood for up to 24 hours. Thrombin generation was initiated in harvested, platelet-poor plasma by the addition of 7.16 pM recombinant TF, 0.32 M phospholipid micelles, and 15 mM CaCl₂ (final). Thrombin generation was measured in duplicate every minute for ≥ 90 minutes following initiation. A) Increasing MRSA incubation times: 5, 12, and 24 hours with 9 x 10⁴ cfu/ml or baseline untreated sample (NT). Samples left untreated for 5 and 12 hours had similar curves to baseline, while the 24 hours untreated sample had a slightly prolonged lag time (data not shown). B) Effect of increasing MRSA concentrations. Increased thrombin generation is demonstrated by a shortened lag time and time to peak thrombin concentration as well as increased rate and peak thrombin concentration with increasing MRSA incubation times (A) and concentrations (B). These data are representative of ≥3 individual experiments.