In a previous study, we found that exposure of either of two CA-MRSA strains isolated from Memphis children (or any of four other S. aureus isolates from children with invasive staphylococcal infections) to daptomycin (compared with vancomycin) led to a less pronounced macrophage inflammatory response, characterized by diminished secretion of TNF and reduced accumulation of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) [11]. Here, TNF is linked to staphylococcal infection.