title: Experimental transmission of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from pregnant rat to fetus.
abstract: Sprague-Dawley rats were infected on day 20 of pregnancy by intraperitoneal inoculation with Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) strains in the presence of C1q but not in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) were able to spread from the pregnant rat to the fetus and resulted in fetal mortality. Transmission of DGI and PID strains that are serum resistant (ser(r)) and sac-4 positive but not of a local infection strain that is ser(s) and sac-4 negative was facilitated by the C1q-dependent mechanism. This study provides the first experimental model that may mimic the transmission of gonococcal infection from mother to the fetus during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas 77555-1062, USA. snowicki@utmb.edu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nowicki
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Selvarangan
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D015922:Complement C1q / Q000276:immunology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D015922:Complement C1q