Linker-Improved Chimeric Endolysin Selectively Kills Staphylococcus aureus <i>In Vitro</i> , on Reconstituted Human Epidermis, and in a Murine Model of Skin Infection
Fritz Eichenseher, Bjorn L. Herpers, Paul Badoux, Juan Manuel Leyva-Castillo, Raif S. Geha, Mathijs van der Zwart, James McKellar, Ferdinand W. Janssen, Bob de Rooij, Lavanja Selvakumar, Christian Röhrig, Johan Frieling, Mark Offerhaus, Martin J. Loessner, Mathias Schmelcher
Abstract
activity assays. When surface-attached mixed staphylococcal cultures were exposed to XZ.700 in a simplified microbiome model, the enzyme selectively removed S. aureus and retained S. epidermidis. Furthermore, XZ.700 did not induce resistance in S. aureus during repeated rounds of exposure to sublethal concentrations. Finally, we demonstrated that XZ.700 formulated as a cream is effective at killing S. aureus on reconstituted human epidermis and that an XZ.700-containing gel significantly reduces bacterial numbers compared to an untreated control in a mouse model of S. aureus-induced skin infection.