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Enterococcus faecalis persists and replicates intracellularly within neutrophils | Infection and Immunity
Chronic wound infection represents a major global public health concern, impacting both healthcare costs and patient quality of life (1, 2). Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive opportunistic pathogen associated with infections in a range of contexts, including urinary tract infection, endocarditis, neonatal sepsis, and chronic wound infection (3–7). A facultative anaerobic bacterium and commensal of the human gastrointestinal tract, E. faecalis exhibits both intrinsic and acquired antibiotic resistance (8), making these infections inherently and increasingly difficult to treat. Long considered an extracellular pathogen, E. faecalis aggregates and forms biofilms, enhancing its persistence capacity in chronic infections (9). However, increasing evidence across a range of host cell types points to an intracellular niche and lifestyle of this multifaceted persistent bacterium (10–13).
