Brothwell, Julie A.Fortney, Kate R.Batteiger, TeresaKatz, Barry P.Spinola, Stanley M.2024-02-092024-02-092023Brothwell JA, Fortney KR, Batteiger T, Katz BP, Spinola SM. Dispensability of Ascorbic Acid Uptake and Utilization Encoded by ulaABCD for the Virulence of Haemophilus ducreyi in Humans. J Infect Dis. 2023;227(3):317-321. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiac314https://hdl.handle.net/1805/38363Compared with wounded skin, ascorbic acid is enriched in pustules of humans experimentally infected with Haemophilus ducreyi. Compared with the broth-grown inocula, transcription of the H. ducreyi ulaABCD operon, which encodes genes for ascorbic acid uptake, is increased in pustules. We hypothesized that ascorbic acid uptake plays a role in H. ducreyi virulence. Five volunteers were infected with both H. ducreyi strain 35000HP and its isogenic ulaABCD deletion mutant at multiple sites; the papule and pustule formation rates of the mutant and parent strains were similar. Thus, ascorbic acid uptake is not essential for H. ducreyi virulence in humans.en-USPublisher PolicyHaemophilus ducreyiAbscessAscorbic acidHuman challenge modelSkin infectionArticle