title: Hemagglutination by Pasteurellaceae isolated from rodents.
abstract: Pasteurellaceae notably P. pneumotropica, have been associated with severe outbreaks of respiratory disease in several species of rodents. Host-specific parasitism of Pasteurellaceae in rodents has hardly been studied. Since host tropism in many bacteria involves adhesive mechanisms, we examined the hemagglutinating (HA) properties of 44 isolates from different rodent species (mouse (15) rat (8), hamster (9), gerbil (10) and Mastomys (2)). Only 13 mouse isolates and the 2 Mastomys isolates hemagglutinated human (type O Rh+) and canine red blood cells (RBCs). No HA was found using RBCs from 10 other animal species. HA was not inhibited by simple sugars and glycoconjugates, but was completely inhibited by heating of bacterial cells for 10 min at 80 or 100 degrees C, partially inhibited by glutaraldehyde and inhibited in a dose-dependent mode by NaIO4, suggesting the involvement of bacterial polysaccharide structures in the HA process. Enrichment procedures did not reveal the presence of HA- subpopulations in HA+ isolates or the presence of HA+ subpopulations in HA- isolates. Electron microscopy revealed the presence of fimbriae both in HA+ and HA- isolates. A regularly structured (RS) layer was detected on cells of part of the HA+ isolates only. Our results suggest that Pasteurellaceae of mice and Mastomys may be related and differ from isolates isolated from other rodent species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Animal Microbiology, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boot
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thuis
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Teppema
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D004285:Dogs; D005849:Gerbillinae; D006384:Hemagglutination; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009115:Muridae; D010325:Pasteurella / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010326:Pasteurella Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D051381:Rats