RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Natural Colonization of Laboratory Mice with Staphylococcus aureus Primes a Systemic Immune Response JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 114314 DO 10.1101/114314 A1 Daniel Schulz A1 Dorothee Grumann A1 Patricia Trübe A1 Kathleen Pritchett-Corning A1 Sarah Johnson A1 Kevin Reppschläger A1 Janine Gumz A1 Nandakumar Sundaramoorthy A1 Stephan Michalik A1 Sabine Berg A1 Jens van den Brandt A1 Richard Fister A1 Stefan Monecke A1 Benedict Uy A1 Frank Schmidt A1 Barbara M. Bröker A1 Siouxsie Wiles A1 Silva Holtfreter YR 2017 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/03/06/114314.abstract AB Background Whether mice are an appropriate model for S. aureus infection and vaccination studies is a matter of debate, because they are not considered as natural hosts of S. aureus. Sparked by an outbreak of S. aureus infections in laboratory mice, we investigated whether laboratory mice are commonly colonized with S. aureus and whether this might impact on infection experiments.Methods We characterized 99 S. aureus isolates from laboratory mice (spa typing, virulence gene PCR), and quantified murine antibodies using FlexMap technology.Results Specific-pathogen-free mice from various vendors were frequently colonized with S. aureus (0-21%). S. aureus was readily transmitted from murine parents to offspring, which became persistently colonized. Most murine isolates belonged to the lineage CC88 (54%). Murine strains showed features of host adaptation, such as absence of hlb-converting phages and superantigen genes, as well as enhanced coagulation of murine plasma. Importantly, S. aureus colonization induced a systemic IgG response specific for numerous S. aureus proteins, including several vaccine candidates.Conclusion Laboratory mice are natural hosts of S. aureus and, therefore, provide better infection models than previously assumed. Pre-exposure to S. aureus is a possible confounder in S. aureus infection and vaccination studies.