Tissue culture assays used to analyze invasion by Staphylococcus aureus

Many successful pathogens have developed the ability to adhere to and invade animal tissues. Recent experimental evidence suggests that S. aureus, generally perceived as an extracellular pathogen, can also invade and, in some cases, multiply within host cells. As a proxy to infections in animal hosts, the study of S. aureus interactions with tissue culture cells has become an important research tool in many aspects of bacterial pathogenesis. In this unit, we describe two cell culture models, including bovine mammary epithelial cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells, that investigators have used to study the interactions of S. aureus with host cells.