title: Salmonella typhimurium infections in BALB/c mice: a comparison of tissue bioluminescence, tissue cultures and mice clinical scores.
abstract: In response to systemic infection, mice usually present specific behaviors such as reduced activity and feeding, ruffled fur, hunched position, ataxia and tremor. We aimed to compare tissue bioluminescence, tissue cultures and clinical scores of BALB/c mice as potentially complementary outcome measures of Salmonella disease progression In Balb/c mice. The clinical status of the mice was assessed by visual examination for motility, ruffled fur, hunched position, feeding, ataxia and tremor. Patterns of bioluminescent light emission indicated the progression of infection from the abdominal region (initial site) to secondary tissue sites, which was indicative of systemic infection. As the severity and progression of infection increased, the bioluminescence signal became both more prominent and more anatomically disseminated. Bioluminescent Imaging (BLI) of Salmonella that have been genetically engineered to be bioluminescent is a new method that gives the opportunity to track Salmonella dissemination in mice. BLI is a helpful method to estimate tissue Salmonella concentration and may reduce the number of mice used in experiments, providing the opportunity to obtain serial assessments of disease progression in a single mouse subject. Clinical scores helped us to assess the clinical status of BALB/c mice in systemic Salmonella infections.
authors.affiliation: GATA Haydarpasa Teaching Hospital, Pediatrics, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Halit
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Özkaya
authors.forename: Abdullah Baris
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Akcan
authors.forename: Gökhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aydemir
authors.forename: Secil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aydinöz
authors.forename: Yasmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Razia
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Gammon
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McKinney
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D046509:Tissue Culture Techniques