Androgens at the skin surface regulateS. aureuspathogenesis through the activation ofagrquorum sensing

Abstract

AbstractStaphylococcus aureus,the most frequent cause of skin infections, is more common in men than women and selectively colonizes the skin during inflammation. Yet, the specific cues that drive infection in these settings remain unclear. Here we show that the host androgens testosterone and dihydrotestosterone promoteS. aureuspathogenesis and skin infection. Without the secretion of these hormones, skin infectionin vivois limited. Testosterone activatesS. aureusvirulence in a concentration dependent manner through stimulation of theagrquorum sensing system, with the capacity to circumvent other inhibitory signals in the environment. Taken together, our work defines a previously uncharacterized inter-kingdom signal between the skin and the opportunistic pathogenS. aureusand identifies the mechanism of sex-dependent differences inS. aureusskin infection.One-Sentence SummaryTestosterone promotesS. aureuspathogenesis through activation of theagrquorum sensing system.