title: Localization of Staphylococcus aureus in tissue from the nasal vestibule in healthy carriers.
abstract: Colonization of the body is an important step in Staphylococcus aureus infection. S. aureus colonizes skin and mucous membranes in humans and several animal species. One important ecological niche of S. aureus is the anterior nares. More than 60% of the S. aureus in the nose are found in vestibulum nasi. Our aim was to describe the localization of S. aureus in nasal tissue from healthy carriers.
  
  
  
  Punch skin biopsies were taken from vestibulum nasi from healthy volunteers (S. aureus carriers and non-/intermittent carriers, n = 39) attending the population-based Tromsø 6 study. The tissue samples were processed as frozen sections before immunostaining with a specific S. aureus antibody, and finally evaluated by a confocal laser-scanning microscope.
  
  
  
  Our results suggest that S. aureus colonize both the upper and lower layers of the epidermis within the nasal epithelium of healthy individuals. The number of S. aureus in epidermis was surprisingly low. Intracellular localization of S. aureus in nasal tissue from healthy individuals was also detected.
  
  
  
  Knowledge of the exact localization of S. aureus in nasal tissue is important for the understanding of the host responses against S. aureus. Our results may have consequences for the eradication strategy of S. aureus in carriers, and further work can provide us with tools for targeted prevention of S. aureus colonisation and infection.
authors.affiliation: Research Group for Host-Microbe Interaction, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway. anne-merethe.hanssen@uit.no.
authors.forename: Anne-Merethe
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4203-8309
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hanssen
authors.affiliation: Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kindlund
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Niels Christian
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Stenklev
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.|Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Anne-Sofie
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Furberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University Hospital of North-Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Silje
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fismen
authors.affiliation: Division of Drug Research, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Linköping, Linköping, Sweden.|Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Medical Diagnostics, Jönköping, Region Jönköping County, Sweden.
authors.forename: Renate Slind
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Olsen
authors.affiliation: Research Group for Host-Microbe Interaction, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johannessen
authors.affiliation: Research Group for Host-Microbe Interaction, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, N-9037, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Johanna Ulrica Ericson
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Sollid
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000382:microbiology*; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D009664:Norway; D009666:Nose / Q000382:microbiology; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*
keywords: Carrier; Epithelial cells; Intracellular; Localization; Nasal colonization; Staphylococcus aureus