A Neonatal Model of Intravenous Staphylococcus epidermidis Infection in Mice <24 h Old Enables Characterization of Early Innate Immune Responses

Staphylococcus epidermidis (SE) causes late onset sepsis and significant morbidity in catheterized preterm newborns. Animal models of SE infection are useful in characterizing disease mechanisms and are an important approach to developing improved diagnostics and therapeutics. Current murine models of neonatal bacterial infection employ intraperitoneal or subcutaneous routes at several days of age, and may, therefore, not accurately reflect distinct features of innate immune responses to bacteremia. In this study we developed, validated, and characterized a murine model of intravenous (IV) infection in neonatal mice