Models of Skin Infection

Deep wound infections as a result of injury or surgery often lead to persistent chronic infections which are difficult to treat due to multi-drug resistance and formation of biofilms. Charles River have established several models of wound infection using S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, including the use of bioluminescent strains to enable in-life analysis of bacterial infection at the wound site. Wounds may be excised for determination of bacterial load by enumeration of CFU in homogenized tissue, and biopsies removed for histopathology.

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Study Endpoints

  • Clinical scores
  • Change in bodyweight and temperature
  • Bacterial load:
    • In life analysis via bioluminescent imaging (IVIS)
    • CFU in skin homogenates
  • Gross pathology
  • In vitro analysis of immune responses – ELISA, Luminex, T cell assays, FACS

Validation Data

CFU in skin following infection with S. aureus
Figure 1. Bacterial load in skin samples following subcutaneous infection with S. aureus. Data are presented as mean CFU per gram of tissue + SEM (n=5). (**p<0.01, Mann Whitney t-test).

 

Bioluminescent signal following subcutaneous infection with Staphylococcus aureus
Figure 2. Bioluminescent signal following subcutaneous infection with S. aureus. Data are presented as mean photons per second ±SEM (n=8).