A functional exploration as to how antibiotic resistance mutations occurring in daptomycin resistant isolates of Staphylococcus aureus impede dendritic cell activation

Staphylococcus aureus, colloquially referred to as ‘golden staph’, represents an emerging threat to public health, with broadly antibiotic resistant strains circulating in the hospital setting. Findings of this thesis have shown that changes occurring within the bacteria during antibiotic therapy, to help the bacteria evade those antibiotics, have further consequences impeding the ability of dendritic cells, a type of innate sensor cells, to detect these bacteria; therefore impeding immune clearance of these bacteria. In explaining how these bacteria avoid immune destruction, this thesis provides a framework for future research into potential immune based non-antibiotic therapies to cure these infections.