Comparative transcriptomic adaptations of Staphylococcus aureus to the wound environment in non-diabetic and diabetic mice

Infection is a major source of complications in delayed diabetic wound healing. Increased understanding of differential bacterial responses to diabetic wounds will enable us to better understand chronic wound pathogenesis. Here we create delayed-healing wounds infected with Staphylococcus aureus in non-diabetic and diabetic mice and used RNA-seq to compare bacterial gene expression profiles 3 or 7 days after infection. Analysis at day 3 demonstrated substantial transcriptomic differences between bacteria colonising non-diabetic and diabetic wound beds. Most of these transcriptional differences resolved by day 7, suggesting normalisation of many bacterial phenotypes later in the diabetic wound healing process. Lingering differentially expressed genes at day 7 were enriched for genes related to carbohydrate metabolism, which includes genes of the lac operon, and capsular polysaccharide synthesis, which includes the cap8 locus. These data encourage further research into host-pathogen interactions in wound healing and how they influence differential outcomes in the diabetic wound environment.

Automated summary

Infection is a major complication in delayed diabetic wound healing. Comparative analysis of bacterial gene expression profiles in non-diabetic and diabetic mice with infected wounds revealed significant transcriptomic differences between the two groups at day 3, which were mostly resolved by day 7. The differentially expressed genes at day 7 were mainly related to carbohydrate metabolism and capsular polysaccharide synthesis. Further research on host-pathogen interactions in wound healing and their influence on diabetic wound outcomes is encouraged.