The role of Klebsiella oxytoca in utero-ovarian infection of B6C3F1 mice.
A disease consisting of suppurative endometritis, salpingitis, perioophoritis and/or peritonitis has been an important problem in aging B6C3F1 mice on some chronic chemical carcinogenicity studies. Klebsiella oxytoca was identified as the most likely causative agent based on cultural isolations from lesions. A study was done to determine prevalence of K. oxytoca in the "normal" flora of mice from different breeding facilities. In a survey of 684 retired female breeder mice from 10 National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) production facilities, K. oxytoca was isolated from only 1% of nasopharynxes, vaginas and ceca in mice from 7 of 10 facilities. Epizootiology of the natural infection was investigated using the capsular and biochemical typing methods on 97 isolates of K. oxytoca from mice of 11 NIEHS and NCI production facilities and sentinel mice from three National Toxicology Program testing facilities. A few capsular types were associated with either lesions, nonlesion isolation sites, or certain facilities but the capsular typing method was not reproducible. No associations were found for any biotypes. A K. oxytoca isolate (capsular type 20, biotype A) from a typical case of perioophoritis was used in attempts to reproduce the natural disease in Klebsiella-free B6C3F1 female mice. Mice were inoculated at 6 months of age by the intravaginal, intrauterine or intraperitoneal route with one of four doses of K. oxytoca and killed at 4, 7 or 10 months post-infection. Some mice given high doses (10(6) or 10(8) colony forming units) of K. +oxytoca died of septicemia and a few developed mild inflammatory lesions in the uterus.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
D000818:Animals; D002432:Cecum / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D007709:Klebsiella / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007710:Klebsiella Infections / Q000662:veterinary*; D051379:Mice; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D010049:Ovarian Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D014591:Uterine Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology