Beyond the skin barrier: commensal <i>S. epidermidis</i> imprint systemic immunity to invasive biofilm infection.

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus epidermidis, a dominant human skin commensal that promotes microbial homeostasis from early life, can transition to an opportunistic pathogen under certain conditions, including invasive, biofilm-associated infections linked to medical devices. Neonatal exposure to skin commensals induces a lifelong immunological imprint in the skin, characterized by immunoregulatory responses. We therefore hypothesized that early life exposure to S. epidermidis influences immune responses to invasive biofilm-associated infections later in life. Using a murine model of biofilm-related S. epidermidis bone infection induced in adulthood, we show that mice previously colonized as neonates displayed substantially different immune responses to later-life invasive infection th

SUBMITTER: Fehrenbach P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12803140 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature