Premium
Murine pulmonary infection and inflammation induced by inhalation of B urkholderia pseudomallei
Author(s) -
West T. Eoin,
Myers Nicolle D.,
Liggitt H. Denny,
Skerrett Shawn J.
Publication year - 2012
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.1365-2613.2012.00842.x
Subject(s) - melioidosis , lung , bronchoalveolar lavage , inflammation , aerosolization , immunology , inhalation , burkholderia pseudomallei , microbiology and biotechnology , pneumonia , biology , pathology , medicine , bacteria , genetics , anatomy
Summary Melioidosis is a tropical disease caused by ingestion, percutaneous inoculation or inhalation of the Gram‐negative soil saprophyte B urkholderia pseudomallei . We developed a reproducible experimental murine model of pneumonic melioidosis induced by inhalation of aerosolized B . pseudomallei 1026b. In a series of experiments performed to bracket the lethal dose, we found that C 57 BL /6 mice were modestly more resistant than BALB /c mice (median lethal dose 334 CFU /lung vs 204 CFU /lung). We further characterized infection and pulmonary inflammation in C 57 BL /6 mice infected with a sublethal dose. We observed pulmonary replication and dissemination of bacteria to distant organs in the first days after infection, followed by bacterial containment by day 4 and no evidence of recrudescent infection for up to 2 months. We measured a robust host inflammatory response notable for a neutrophilic bronchoalveolar lavage fluid profile, elevated cytokines and chemokines in the lung and serum and scattered foci of neutrophilic infiltrates in the alveoli and in a perivascular distribution on histological analysis. We previously noted a similar pattern of inflammation in mice infected with aerosolized B . thailandensis . This report builds on the limited literature describing experimental murine pneumonic melioidosis induced by aerosol and characterizes pulmonary infection and resultant inflammation in C57 BL /6 mice infected with aerosolized B . pseudomallei . This model has utility for the study of bacterial and host factors that contribute to the virulence of melioidosis.