Difference in susceptibility to gram-negative urinary tract infection between C3H/HeJ and C3H/HeN mice.
The difference in susceptibility to urinary tract infection between C3H/HeJ and C3H/HeN mice was tested for with gram-negative strains differing in lipopolysaccharide composition. Recently, impaired clearance of Escherichia coli from the kidney of C3H/HeJ compared to C3H/HeN mice was shown to be correlated with the LPS low responsiveness. In this study, a difference in clearance from the kidneys of C3H/HeJ and C3H/HeN mice was found only with lipopolysaccharide-containing bacteria. Gram-positive bacteria, e.g., Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Streptococcus agalactiae, were recovered in essentially equal numbers from the kidneys of mice of both strains. In contrast, of the lipopolysaccharide-containing strains used, all persisted in higher numbers in the kidneys of C3H/HeJ mice than in the kidneys of C3H/HeN mice. Variations in the O side chain did not eliminate this difference. E. coli Hu734 O75+K5+ and the rfb- mutant O75-K5+ remained in similar numbers in C3H/HeJ mice, although O75-K5+ was eliminated more rapidly in C3H/HeN mice. The core structure did not affect the differential persistence in the two mouse strains. The rfb mutants with R1-R4 cores were eliminated after 24 h from the C3H/HeN mice, but remained in significant numbers in the kidneys of C3H/HeJ mice. Even the Re mutant of Salmonella minnesota persisted in low numbers in C3H/HeJ mice. The relative bacterial recovery from either mouse strain was related to the overall virulence of the infecting bacterial strain, but the difference between C3H/HeJ and C3H/HeN mice was associated with responsiveness to parts of lipopolysaccharide common to the bacterial strains tested.
D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D007668:Kidney / Q000382:microbiology; D008050:Lipid A / Q000276:immunology*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D008050:Lipid A; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial