Preventing Staphylococcus aureus Sepsis through the Inhibition of Its Agglutination in Blood
Figure 2
Staphylococcus aureus agglutination occurs during the pathogenesis of sepsis in mice.
(A–D) Quantification of heart lesions in BALB/c mice (n = 10) 12 hours post-infection with S. aureus Newman. Three types of lesions were observed with either (A) staphylococcal agglutination (SA) without immune cell infiltrates (PMNs, polymorphonuclear leukocytes), (B) immune cell infiltrates without SAs (PMNs only) or (C) SA with surrounding granulocytes (SA+PMNs). Heart tissues were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and lesions enumerated (D). Error bars represent standard error of the mean of tissue samples. Data are representative of two independent experiments. (E) Immuno-histochemical analysis of heart tissues from BALB/c mice (n = 10) 12 hours following intravenous challenge with S. aureus Newman. Samples were stained with antibodies directed against mouse fibrinogen (α-fibrinogen) or mouse prothrombin (α-prothrombin). Arrows point to staphylococcal agglutinations (black) or immune cell infiltrates (green); scale bars represent 1 µm.