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Role Of Il-10 In The Immune Response To Staphylococcus Aureus Nasal Carriage, Teresa Fernandez Plaza

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Staphylococcus aureus is a human pathogen with the potential to cause life-threatening diseases, but it can also be found as a commensal in up to 50% of the population. Its main reservoir is located in the nostrils, where macrophages are the principal mucosal APC and elicit a predominantly IL-10 response. Induction of IL-10 requires phosohoinositide 3-kinase activity, upon stimulation with S. aureus ligands through toll-like receptor 2 binding. It is hypothesized that IL-10 production by macrophages in the nasal mucosa allows S. aureus to persist in this niche as a commensal. To test this hypothesis, a cohort of S. aureus …