Staphylococcus hominis (S. hominis)

Staphylococcus hominis is a Gram-positive, coagulase-negative bacterium that is a common inhabitant of the human skin microbiome, particularly in areas with high sweat gland density (Wikipedia, 2023). While typically a harmless commensal, it acts as an opportunistic pathogen, frequently implicated in hospital-acquired infections, particularly bacteremia and endocarditis in immunocompromised patients or those with indwelling medical devices (StatPearls, 2023). The species is also recognized for its metabolic role in producing volatile thioalcohols, which contribute significantly to human axillary odor (NCBI, 2020). Treatment of S. hominis infections often requires robust antibiotic therapy, though the rise of strains resistant to methicillin and other common agents complicates clinical management (PubMed, 2021). Because Staphylococcus hominis is a whole organism rather than a single protein or receptor, it is not classified as a discrete molecular target; instead, it contains multiple internal molecular targets for various classes of antimicrobial drugs.

Other names

S. hominisStaphylococcus hominis subsp. hominisStaphylococcus hominis subsp. novobiosepticus

Antibiotics targeting Staphylococcus hominis typically act by inhibiting cell wall synthesis (e.g., glycopeptides), protein synthesis (e.g., oxazolidinones and aminoglycosides), or disrupting the bacterial cell membrane (e.g., cyclic lipopeptides) (StatPearls, 2023).