AUTHOR=Cruz Ana Rita , van Strijp Jos A. G. , Bagnoli Fabio , Manetti Andrea G. O. 

TITLE=Virulence Gene Expression of Staphylococcus aureus in Human Skin

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.692023

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.692023

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic> is the main cause of human skin and soft tissue infections. However, <italic>S. aureus</italic> pathogenicity within the skin is not fully characterized. Here, we implemented an <italic>S. aureus</italic> cutaneous infection model using human skin explants and performed a time-course infection to study the gene expression profile of a large panel of virulence-related factors of <italic>S. aureus</italic> USA300 LAC strain, by high-throughput RT-PCR. We pinpointed the genes that were differentially regulated by the bacteria in the skin tissues and identified 12 virulence factors that were upregulated at all time points assessed. Finally, using confocal microscopy, we show that the expression of alpha-hemolysin by <italic>S. aureus</italic> varies dependent on the skin niche and that the bacteria preferentially accumulates inside sweat glands and ducts. Taken together, our study gives insights about the pathogenic lifestyle of <italic>S. aureus</italic> within human skin tissues, which may contribute for the development of anti-<italic>S. aureus</italic> therapeutic strategies.</p>