Premium
Experimental cutaneous Bacillus anthracis infections in hairless HRS/J mice
Author(s) -
Bischof Timothy S.,
Hahn Beth L.,
Sohnle Peter G.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of experimental pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.671
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1365-2613
pISSN - 0959-9673
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2613.2006.00519.x
Subject(s) - hairless , dermis , biology , bacillus anthracis , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , ratón , andrology , medicine , anatomy , bacteria , biochemistry , genetics
Summary Previous studies of experimental Bacillus anthracis cutaneous infections in mice have implicated hair follicles as a likely entry site. Hairless HRS/J mice were used to investigate this possibility because of their non‐functional hair follicles that lack penetrating hair shafts. These mice also have diminished macrophage function, increased susceptibility to Listeria , and enhanced neutrophil responses. HRS/J and Balb/c mice were found to be resistant to epicutaneous inoculation with Bacillus anthracis (Sterne) spores onto abraded skin when compared with DBA/2 mice or leucopenic C57BL/6 mice. The HRS/J mice also resisted spore injections that bypassed hair follicles. Haired HRS/J heterozygote mice demonstrated similar reduced susceptibility to B. anthracis spores. Hairless HRS/J mice that were made leucopenic did become susceptible to the epicutaneous spore inoculations. Histologically, the hairless and haired HRS/J mice showed markedly reduced numbers of organisms in hair follicles and the interfollicular dermis when compared even with the resistant Balb/c mice; inflammatory cell infiltrates in the superficial dermis were increased in the HRS/J mice compared with more sensitive strains. Therefore, resistance in the HRS/J mice was apparent at the initial site of epicutaneous inoculation and seemed related to an accumulation of dermal neutrophils rather than to a lack of functional hair follicles.