Development and Assessment of Intracellular Infection Models for Staphylococcus aureus

Summary

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) has the capability to disseminate throughout the body, causing persistent and recurrent infections. To better understand these processes, this study establishes an intracellular infection model for S. aureus. This model will provide a crucial foundation for investigating the mechanisms behind intracellular infections.

Abstract

S. aureus can invade and persist within host cells, including immune cells, which allows it to evade immune detection and clearance. This intracellular persistence contributes to chronic and recurrent infections, complicating treatment and prolonging the disease. Consequently, there is a critical need for an intracellular infection model to better understand, prevent, and treat infections caused by S. aureus. This study indicated that antibiotics effectively eliminated extracellular bacteria but could not eradicate those that had entered the cells. Thus, a stable intracellular infection in vitro was established by RAW264.7 infected with S. aureus and co-culturing them with antibiotics. Subsequently, an intracellular infection model in mice was established by injecting peritoneal macrophages containing the intracellular infection. Vancomycin effectively cleared bacterial loads in mice challenged with planktonic S. aureus; however, it was ineffective against mice infected with equal or lower levels of intracellular bacteria within the peritoneal macrophages. This indicates that the intracellular infection model of S. aureus was successfully established, offering potential insights for the prevention and treatment of intracellular infections.

Introduction

S. aureus is a highly contagious pathogen that can cause a range of infections, including skin and soft tissue infections, sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia, and endocarditis¹. The clinical misuse of antibiotics has led to increased resistance in S. aureus and the emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which poses a significant public health threat in many countries².

Although S. aureus is not traditionally classified as an intracellular pathogen, emerging evidence suggests that it can persistently colonize host cells following invasion....

Protocol

Experimental animals, 6-8 weeks old specific pathogen-free (SPF) female BALB/c mice, were purchased from the Beijing HFK Bioscience Co., Ltd (Beijing, China). All animal studies were approved by the Laboratory Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee of Third Military Medical University and were performed in accordance with the institutional and national policies and guidelines for the use of laboratory animals. The mice were kept and vaccinated in SPF facilities and provided free access to sterile food and water. Animals wer.......

Discussion

S. aureus, as a facultative intracellular pathogen, can invade and survive in various cell types, using this capability to evade antibiotics and immune responses during infection³⁰. This study established an intracellular infection model of S. aureusin vivo to provide a foundation for investigating the pathogen's intracellular infection mechanisms. By exploring the impact of various MOI values on macrophage phagocytosis of S. aureus, as well as the efficacy of differ.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
24-well plate	Corning Incorporated, USA	3524
4 % paraformaldehyde solutione	BBI, UK	E672002-0500
6-well plate	Corning Incorporated, USA	3516
Beef extract powder	BBI, UK	A600114-0500
Biohazard safety equipment	Heal force, China	VS-1300L-u
Cell incubator	ESCO, Singapore	CCL-170B-8
Cell scraper	Nest	710001
Centrifuge M1416R	RWD, China	M1416R
Centrifuge tube	Guanghou Labselect, China	CT-002-50A
Confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM)	Zeiss, Germany	880
Confocal petri dish	Biosharp, China	BS-20-GJM
DAPI dye	Shanghai Beyotime, China	C1006
DIL working fluid	Shanghai Beyotime, China	C1991S
Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium	Thermo Gibco, USA	C11995500BT
Fetal Bovine Serum	Hyclone	SV30208.02
Gentamycin	Shanghai Sangon, China	B540724-0010
Incubator	Shanghai Hengzi, China	HDPF-150
Lysozyme	Beijing Solarbio, China	L9070
MRSA252	Third Military Medical University, China	null
MRSA252(GPF)	Third Military Medical University, China	null
Penicillin and Streptomycin	Shanghai Beyotime, China	C0222
Phosphate Buffer Solution	Shanghai Beyotime, China	ST476
Saline	Sichuan Kelun, China	null
Sodium chloride	Shanghai Macklin, China	S805275
Starch soluble	Shanghai Sangon, China	A500904-0500
Triton X-100	Shanghai Beyotime, China	P0096-100ml
Tryptic Soy Agar (TSA) plates	Beijing AOBOX Biotechnology Co., LTD,China	02-130
Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB) medium	Beijing AOBOX Biotechnology Co., LTD,China	02-102K
Tryptone	OXOID, UK	LP0042B
Vancomycin	Shanghai Beyotime, China	ST2807-250mg
RAW264.7 cell	USA, ATCC	null