title: Establishment of rat model of silicotuberculosis and its pathological characteristic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish different stages of silicosis rat model complicated with tuberculosis infection, and compare the pathological characteristics and analyze the impact of silicosis on tuberculosis infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  SD rats were subjected to intratracheal administration of silica with non-exposure method at the 1st, 30th, or 60th day. At the 50th day, the rats were injected with the suspension of H37Rv (a virulent standard strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis) via tail-vein. After 40 days post-infection, rats were sacrificed, the lung tissues were isolated, and paraffin was embedded and sectioned. The sections were treated using HE staining for structure observation, acid fast stain of Ziehl-Neelsen for bacterial detection, and Warthin-Starry silver staining for displaying the distribution of dust particles. The bacterial load was quantified by colony counting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Primary to tertiary silicosis could be discovered at the 30th, 60th, and 90th day of post-infection. The rats could be infected by injection of M. tuberculosis via tail vein, with tuberculosis load and the degree of lung tissue lesions positively correlated with silicosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The rat model of silicotuberculosis was established successfully, which facilitated understanding the 'cross-talk' of silicosis and tuberculosis during the process they drive each other.
authors.forename: Hu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Wu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yabo
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiaokang
authors.forename: Wang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: Mu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Wang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wenyang
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhaoquan
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yingru
authors.forename: Zhang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rongbo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000254:growth & development*; D051381:Rats; D012830:Silicotuberculosis / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Models,; Pathology,; Pulmonary fibrosis,; Silicotuberculosis,; tuberculosis