Targeting leukocidin-mediated immune evasion protects mice from Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for various diseases in humans, and recurrent infections are commonly observed. S. aureus produces an array of bicomponent pore-forming toxins that target and kill leukocytes, known collectively as the leukocidins. The contribution of these leukocidins to impair the development of anti-S. aureus adaptive immunity and facilitate reinfection is unclear. Using a murine model of recurrent bacteremia, we demonstrate that infection with a leukocidin mutant results in increased levels of anti-S. aureus antibodies compared with mice infected with the WT parental strain, indicating that leukocidins negatively impact the generation of anti-S. aureus antibodies in vivo. We hypothesized that neutralizing leukocidin-mediated immune subversion by vaccination may shif

SUBMITTER: Tam K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7478724 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature