A new murine model to study the pathogenesis of tuberculous meningitis.
Tuberculous meningitis (TM) is a severe complication of tuberculosis that mainly occurs during childhood. No murine models are available to study this disease. The purpose of the present study was to develop a murine model to investigate the pathogenesis of TM. Mice were intracerebrally injected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Bacilli could be cultured from brain homogenates, and, on histopathological examination, all mice were found to have meningeal cellular infiltration. We found elevated levels of chemoattractants for mononuclear phagocytes and neutrophilic granulocytes. This is the first murine model for TM that can be used for research on the host response to TM, in particular the innate immune response.
van Well
Gijs Th J
GT
Department of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. g.vanwell@vumc.nl
Wieland
Catharina W
CW
Florquin
Sandrine
S
Roord
John J
JJ
van der Poll
Tom
T
van Furth
A Marceline
AM
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D054426:Chemokine CXCL2; D018925:Chemokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D007378:Interleukins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013997:Time Factors; D014390:Tuberculosis, Meningeal / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
D054426:Chemokine CXCL2; D018925:Chemokines; C404915:Cxcl2 protein, mouse; D007378:Interleukins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D007371:Interferon-gamma