title: Genomic variations among Bartonella henselae isolates derived from naturally infected cats.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to understand the mechanisms of persistent infection with Bartonella henselae in cats. Blood samples were collected from three naturally infected cats for 24 months. These cats were confirmed to be persistently infected with B. henselae by serological and bacteriological examination. Relapsing bacteremia was found in all three cats with intervals of 3-19 months. Following the peaks of bacteremia, increases of specific antibody titer were observed in these cats. To examine the genetic differences among the isolates derived from the first and following bacteremia, the genome DNA patterns of the restriction enzyme fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the isolates were examined by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. The isolates derived from the first bacteremia showed an identical RFLP pattern in each of the three cats. The isolates derived from the following peaks, however, showed 1-3 of different RFLP patterns in these cats. Furthermore, the isolates showing different RFLP patterns from those of the first bacteremia were also detected at the following bacteremic peaks in all three cats examined. The 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene type of all isolates was found to be 16S rRNA type I. The emergence of genetically distinct organisms at various peaks of bacteremia may contribute to the establishment of persistent infection in the naturally infected cats.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Bioresource Science, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-8510, Japan. kabeya@brs.nihon-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kabeya
authors.forename: Soichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Mitsuhiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Irei
authors.forename: Rena
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mikami
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D002415:Cats; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000662:veterinary; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S