Toward Optimization of a Rabbit Model of Staphylococcus aureus (USA300) Skin and Soft Tissue Infection
Natalia Małachowa, Will McGuinness, Scott D. Kobayashi, Adeline R. Porter, Carl Shaia, Jamie Lovaglio, Brian J. Smith, Viktoria Rungelrath, Greg Saturday, Dana Scott, Fabiana Falugi, Dominique Missiakas, Olaf Schneewind, Frank R. DeLeo
Abstract
Animal models of S. aureus infection are important for evaluating bacterial pathogenesis and host immune responses. These animal infection models are often used as an initial step in the testing of vaccine antigens and new therapeutics. The extent to which animal models of S. aureus infection approximate human infections remains a significant consideration for translation of results to human clinical trials. Although significant progress has been made with rabbit models of S. aureus infection, one concern is the high inoculum needed to cause reproducible disease. Here, we generated USA300 strains that have tropism for rabbits and developed a rabbit SSTI model that uses fewer CFU than previous models.