FIG. 3.

S. aureus induces BK release in human plasma. Various numbers of S. aureus or S. pneumoniae bacteria were incubated with human plasma (final concentration of 50%) for 15 min. Bacteria were washed and resuspended in buffer. Following another incubation period of 15 min, bacteria were pelleted, and the BK content of the resulting supernatants was determined with an ELISA. Plasma alone was the negative control. Values are means ± standard deviations (n = 3).