title: Following in real time the impact of pneumococcal virulence factors in an acute mouse pneumonia model using bioluminescent bacteria.
abstract: Pneumonia is one of the major health care problems in developing and industrialized countries and is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Despite advances in knowledge of this illness, the availability of intensive care units (ICU), and the use of potent antimicrobial agents and effective vaccines, the mortality rates remain high(1). Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading pathogen of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and one of the most common causes of bacteremia in humans. This pathogen is equipped with an armamentarium of surface-exposed adhesins and virulence factors contributing to pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). The assessment of the in vivo role of bacterial fitness or virulence factors is of utmost importance to unravel S. pneumoniae pathogenicity mechanisms. Murine models of pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis are being used to determine the impact of pneumococcal factors at different stages of the infection. Here we describe a protocol to monitor in real-time pneumococcal dissemination in mice after intranasal or intraperitoneal infections with bioluminescent bacteria. The results show the multiplication and dissemination of pneumococci in the lower respiratory tract and blood, which can be visualized and evaluated using an imaging system and the accompanying analysis software.
authors.affiliation: Department Genetics of Microorganisms, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Greifswald.
authors.forename: Malek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saleh
authors.affiliation: Department Genetics of Microorganisms, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Greifswald.
authors.forename: Mohammed R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Abdullah
authors.affiliation: Department Genetics of Microorganisms, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Greifswald.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.affiliation: Department Genetics of Microorganisms, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Greifswald.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kohler
authors.affiliation: Department Genetics of Microorganisms, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Greifswald.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pribyl
authors.affiliation: Department Genetics of Microorganisms, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Greifswald.
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Jensch
authors.affiliation: Department Genetics of Microorganisms, Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Greifswald; sven.hammerschmidt@uni-greifswald.de.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hammerschmidt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods*; D008168:Lung / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D011018:Pneumonia, Pneumococcal / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors