Abstract
Microbes that have acquired the ability to colonize and/or cause disease in humans must be able to both recognize and respond to host defenses to ensure their survival. For commensal microbes, adaptive strategies generally promote a balance between host immune defenses and bacterial maintenance, allowing asymptomatic colonization. Pathogenic microbes, on the other hand, tilt the balance in favor of the microorganism, leading to symptomatic illness and disease. Some microorganisms that are known to be asymptomatic colonizers of humans can cause serious disease upon gaining access to foreign sites and usurping immunological attack. The Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is one such microorganism. This article will address recent advances in our understanding of S. aureus immune evasion with an emphasis on immune cell targeting. The prospects of this targeting in terms of understanding the evolution of S. aureus as a pathogen as well as its implications for future anti-S. aureus therapeutics, will be discussed.