Comparison of livestock-associated and community-associated Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity in a mouse model of skin and soft tissue infection

Pranay R. Randad, Carly A. Dillen, Roger V. Ortines, David Mohr, Maliha Aziz, Lance B. Price, Hülya Kaya, Jesper Larsen, Karen C. Carroll, Tara C. Smith, Lloyd S. Miller, Christopher D. Heaney

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Industrial hog operation (IHO) workers are at increased risk of carrying Staphylococcus aureus in their nares, particularly strains that are livestock-associated (LA) and multidrug-resistant. The pathogenicity of LA-S. aureus strains remains unclear, with some prior studies suggesting reduced transmission and virulence in humans compared to community-associated methicillin-resistant (CA-MRSA) S. aureus. The objective of this study was to determine the degree to which LA-S. aureus strains contracted by IHO workers cause disease relative to a representative CA-MRSA strain in a mouse model of skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI). Mice infected with CC398 LA-S. aureus strains (IHW398-1 and IHW398-2) developed larger lesion sizes with higher bacterial burden than mice infected with CA-MRSA (SF8300) (p < 0.05). The greatest lesion size and bacterial burden was seen with a CC398 strain that produced a recurrent SSTI in an IHO worker. The LA-S. aureus infected mice had decreased IL-1β protein levels compared with CA-MRSA-infected mice (p < 0.05), suggesting a suboptimal host response to LA-S. aureus SSTIs. WGSA revealed heterogeneity in virulence factor and antimicrobial resistance genes carried by LA-S. aureus and CA-MRSA strains. The observed pathogenicity suggest that more attention should be placed on preventing the spread of LA-S. aureus into human populations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number6774
JournalScientific reports
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2019

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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