| Notes: | Advisor: David Boone.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Chicago, Division of the Biological Sciences, and the Pritzker School of Medicine, Dept. of Microbiology, 2010.
Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 71-07, Section: B, page: 4046.
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| Summary: | S. aureus has long co-existed with humans, yet no study has thoroughly mapped disease progression within the mammalian host. In this thesis work, we develop a murine model of staphylococcal infection that allows us to monitor bacterial survival from bloodstream to end organ tissues. We address the action and function of bacterial factors that are required for staphylococcal survival in the bloodstream and in the abscess, both of which allow for persistent invasion of the human host. Specifically, we examine and classify the functional stage of the sortase A anchored substrates, cell wall associated proteins Eap, Emp, and Ebh, and the staphylocoagulases Coa and vWbp. In particular, we investigate how these substrates contribute to staphylococcal abscess formation and chronic disease. We also investigate the protective contribution of these substrates in preventing staphylococcal disease and arrive at a presumptive list of protective antigens for vaccine development.
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