C-kit⁺-progenitor proliferation within wounds contributes to immune protection against S aureus infection. (A) Experimental design for immunodepletion of c-kit⁺ cells and PMNs before S aureus infection (1 × 10⁷ CFUs) and skin wounding (SA-pre-ACK2-Gr-1). (B) Comparison of kinetics of wound EGFP-PMNs in S aureus–infected EGFP-lys-mice with SA-pre-ACK2-Gr-1 and SA-pre-Gr-1 treatment (refer to Figure 3A for the experimental design of SA-pre-Gr-1 treatment). (C) EGFP⁺ colony derived from cells harvested from EGFP-lys-mice with SA-pre-Gr-1 treatment. At day 5 after infection, wounded and S aureus–infected skin biopsies were collected from EGFP-lys-mice with SA-pre-Gr-1 treatment, digested, and plated in methylcellulose medium. Shown is a representative image of an EGFP⁺ colony 7 days after plating. (D) Comparison of survival rate between EGFP-lys-mice with SA-pre-ACK2-Gr-1 and SA-pre-Gr-1 treatment. *P < .05 vs SA-pre-Gr-1.