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Neutrophils, antibodies, and defensins protect against the gram-positive extracellular bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Skin infections caused by S. aureus, including impetigo, cellulitis, furunculosis, and folliculitis, are common and can be serious. If the organism gets past the skin defense system, life-threatening bacteremia, pneumonia, meningitis, endocarditis, and sepsis may occur. T cells also appear to play a role in host defense: T-cell–generated interleukins IL-17 and IL-22 trigger epithelial cells to produce chemokines, which help to bring neutrophils to the infected sites. In mice, depletion of αβ T cells has been associated with defective-neutrophil abscess formation and more-severe infections.
These authors studied the role of …