title: In vitro modeling of gallbladder-associated Salmonella spp. colonization.
abstract: The host-pathogen interactions occurring in the gallbladder during Salmonella Typhi colonization contribute to typhoid fever pathogenesis during the acute and chronic stages of disease. The gallbladder is the primary reservoir during chronic typhoid carriage. In this organ, Salmonella encounters host-barriers including bile, immunoglobulins, and mucus. However, the bacterium possesses mechanisms to resist and persist in this environment, in part by its ability to attach to and invade into the gallbladder epithelium. Such persistence in the gallbladder epithelium contributes to chronic carriage. In addition, patients harboring gallstones in their gallbladders have increased risk of becoming carriers because these abnormalities serve as a substrate for Salmonella biofilm formation. Our laboratory has studied the Salmonella interactions in this specific environment by developing in vitro methods that closely mimic the gallbladder and gallstones niches. These methods are reproducible and provide a platform for future studies of acute and chronic bacterial infections in the gallbladder.
authors.affiliation: Center for Microbial Interface Biology, Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, 460 W. 12th Ave., Biomedical Research Tower, Room 794, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Escobedo
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Gunn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D004285:Dogs; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000166:cytology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000494:pharmacology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D008853:Microscopy; D012475:Salmonella / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D005839:Gentamicins