The Staphylococcus aureus ArlRS Two-Component System Is a Novel Regulator of Agglutination and Pathogenesis
Figure 9
Strains lacking ArlRS are defective in a rabbit model of sepsis and endocarditis.
NZW rabbits (either sex) were anesthetized and their aortic valves damaged with hard plastic catheters for 2 hr. The catheters were removed, and their necks sutured closed. MW2-WT and mutant strains were injected intravenously; animals were monitored for health status for up to 4 days. Percent survival (A), vegetation weights (B), and log CFUs/total vegetations per animal (C) were recorded at the time of death or upon completion of the experiment at day 4. Bars on log CFUs indicate standard deviations. *p = 0.01 (percent survival), **p = 0.005 (vegetation size) and *p = 0.03 (CFU/total vegetations). Statistical significance was determined using a two-tailed, Mann Whitney (non-parametric) test or Log-rank (Mantel-Cox) Test for survival.