Host-to-Host Group A Streptococcus Transmission Causes Infection of the Lamina Propria but Not Epithelium of the Upper Respiratory Tract in MyD88-Deficient Mice

Abstract

To understand protective immune responses against the onset of group A Streptococcus respiratory infection, we investigated whether MyD88 KO mice were susceptible to acute infection through transmission. After commingling with mice that had intranasal group A Streptococcus (GAS) inoculation, MyD88 −/− recipient mice had increased GAS loads in the nasal cavity and throat that reached a mean throat colonization of 6.3 × 10 6 CFU/swab and mean GAS load of 5.2 × 10 8 CFU in the nasal cavity on day 7.