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Among the many properties of Staphylococcus aureus is its ability to persist within phagocytic cells. Industry investigators wondered whether this property is relevant to the pathogen's virulence and, if so, whether an antibody–antibiotic conjugate (AAC) could target and kill such intracellular persisters.
The investigators first showed that vancomycin, daptomycin, and linezolid were ineffective in killing methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) USA300 within murine macrophages. At 4 days, the bacterial burden in mice infected with S. aureus inside of phagocytic cells was equivalent to or higher than that of mice infected with planktonic bacteria, and the intracellular S. aureus survived exposure to vancomycin.
The researchers then created an …