Fig. 2

mazEF::tn sepsis can be effectively treated in vivo using cefazolin. Intravenous infection was given by retro-orbital challenge using a mouse sepsis model (n = 5). In JE2 WT sepsis, untreated and cefazolin treated groups displayed similar mortality ~ 20%, compared to vancomycin treated group (A). At time of euthanasia, intraperitoneal organs were collected and processed to determine metastatic abscess formation of blood borne infection. In JE2 WT sepsis, there were significant reductions in organ abscess burden in the vancomycin treated group compared to untreated group (B). In mazF::tn sepsis, cefazolin and vancomycin treated groups displayed similar mortality ~ 100% compared to untreated group (C). Cefazolin and vancomycin treated groups displayed significantly reduced metastatic abscess burden compared to the untreated group (*p < 0.05) (D).