NTRA-CELLULAR STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS ALONE CAUSES INFECTION IN VIVO

Authors

Therwa Hamza, West Virginia University
Matthew Dietz, West Virginia University
Danh Pham, West Virginia University
Nina Clovis, West Virginia University
Suzanne Danley, West Virginia University
Bingyun Li, West Virginia University

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2616-5378

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2468-9837

N/A

N/A

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1278-547X

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5766-5666

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

College/Unit

School of Medicine

Department/Program/Center

Orthopaedics

Abstract

Chronic and recurrent bone infections occur frequently but have not been explained. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is often found among chronic and recurrent infections and may be responsible for such infections. One possible reason is that S. aureus can internalize and survive within host cells and by doing so, S. aureus can evade both host defense mechanisms and most conventional antibiotic treatments. In this study, we hypothesized that intra-cellular S. aureus could induce infections in vivo. Osteoblasts were infected with S. aureus and, after eliminating extra-cellular S. aureus, inoculated into an open fracture rat model. Bacterial cultures and radiographic observations at post-operative day 21 confirmed local bone infections in animals inoculated with intra-cellular S. aureus within osteoblasts alone. We present direct in vivo evidence that intra-cellular S. aureus could be sufficient to induce bone infection in animals; we found that intra-cellular S. aureus inoculation of as low as 102 colony forming units could induce severe bone infections. Our data may suggest that intra-cellular S. aureus can “hide” in host cells during symptom-free periods and, under certain conditions, they may escape and lead to infection recurrence. Intra-cellular S. aureus therefore could play an important role in the pathogenesis of S. aureus infections, especially those chronic and recurrent infections in which disease episodes may be separated by weeks, months, or even years.

Digital Commons Citation

Hamza, Therwa; Dietz, Matthew; Pham, Danh; Clovis, Nina; Danley, Suzanne; and Li, Bingyun, "NTRA-CELLULAR STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS ALONE CAUSES INFECTION IN VIVO" (2013). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 2661.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/2661

Source Citation

Hamza, T., Dietz, M., Pham, D., Clovis, N., Danley, S., & Li, B. (2013). Intra-cellular Staphylococcus aureus alone causes infection in vivo. European Cells and Materials, 25, 341–350. https://doi.org/10.22203/ecm.v025a24