Fig. 5: PSMβ deficient mutant strain causes more severe joint destruction.
From: Phenol-soluble modulin α and β display divergent roles in mice with staphylococcal septic arthritis
NMRI mice (n = 11–21/group) were intravenously injected with S. aureus Newman (wild type, WT), or the isogenic mutant strains Δpsmα and Δpsmβ (5 × 106 CFU/mouse) and sacrificed on day 10 post-infection. Shown is the accumulative bone destruction scores a and frequency of bone destructions b of the joints from all 4 limbs of mice as assessed by micro computed tomography (µCT) scan. Representative µCT scan images c–g showing both intact (left) and heavily eroded (right) joints, c wrists, d shoulders, e hips, f knees and g hind paws. Arrows indicate the bone erosion. The results from three independent experiments were pooled. The data are reported as mean ± standard error of the mean and analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U test, with data expressed as box plots showing interquartile range, and whiskers showing minimum and maximum a or Fisher’s exact test b. *P < 0.05; ns not significant.
