Use of mouse primary epidermal organoids for USA300 infection modeling and drug screening

Skin infections caused by drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus occur at high rates nationwide. Mouse primary epidermal organoids (mPEOs) possess stratified histological and morphological characteristics of epidermis and are highly similar to their derived tissue at the transcriptomic and proteomic levels. Herein, the susceptibility of mPEOs to methicillin-resistant S. aureus USA300 infection was investigated. The results show that mPEOs support USA300 colonization and invasion, exhibiting swollen epithelial squamous cells with nuclear necrosis and secreting inflammatory factors such as IL-1β. Meanwhile mPEOs beneficial to observe the process of USA300 colonization with increasing infection time, and USA300 induces mPEOs to undergo pyroptosis and autophagy. In addition, we performed a drug screen for the mPEO infection model and showed that vancomycin restores cell viability and inhibits bacterial internalization in a concentration-dependent manner. In conclusion, we establish an in vitro skin infection model that contributes to the examination of drug screening strategies and antimicrobial drug mechanisms.