title: Invasion of endothelial cells by systemic and nasal strains of Haemophilus parasuis.
abstract: Haemophilus parasuis is a respiratory commensal in healthy piglets, but can also produce invasive disease and meningitis, which requires the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. This study determined the capacity of well-characterised virulent and non-virulent strains of H. parasuis, as well as other field strains, to adhere to and invade PBMEC/C1-2 endothelial cells. Virulent strains were derived from systemic lesions, conformed to the systemic clade on multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and were phagocytosis- and serum-resistant. Non-virulent strains were derived from the nostrils of healthy piglets, belonged to the nasal clade on MLST and were phagocytosis- and serum-sensitive. Virulent strains mostly were more invasive than non-virulent strains, although one virulent strain was unable to invade. Invasion of endothelial cells is a virulence mechanism of H. parasuis that may be related to the ability of some strains to cause meningitis.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), UAB-IRTA, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. virginia.aragon@cresa.uab.es
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Aragon
authors.forename: Bénédicte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bouchet
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gottschalk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000382:microbiology*; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D044137:Haemophilus parasuis / Q000145:classification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D008168:Lung / Q000382:microbiology; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000382:microbiology; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D014774:Virulence