title: Vibrio vulnificus detected in the spleen leads to fatal outcome in a mouse oral infection model.
abstract: Vibrio vulnificus causes rapid disseminating septicemia by oral infection in infected individuals who have an underlying disease, especially chronic liver diseases. Although the elucidation of specific risk factors for V. vulnificus infection in patients with liver diseases is of urgent importance, no appropriate experimental animal model that mimics the liver diseases in this bacterial infection has been available so far. To discover these risk factors, we generated a liver disordered mouse by performing bile duct ligation (BDL). Hepatitis developed in the BDL mice; however, this did not affect mortality in mice after orogastric administration of V. vulnificus, suggesting that the liver disorders caused by the BDL were not risk factors for V. vulnificus septicemia. When the dead and surviving mice were compared, V. vulnificus could be detected from the spleen only in the dead group. Furthermore, significantly higher numbers of V. vulnificus were detected from the intestines in the dead group than in the surviving group ( P < 0.001). These findings suggested that proliferation of the challenge inoculum in the intestine was needed for the oral infection with V. vulnificus, and that the elimination of V. vulnificus in the liver and/or spleen plays a critical role in survival of the host.
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Higashi 23-35-1, Towada, Aomori 034-8628, Japan kashimot@vmas.kitasato-u.ac.jp.
authors: Takashige
authors: T
authors: Kashimoto
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Higashi 23-35-1, Towada, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
authors: Chiemi
authors: C
authors: Iwasaki
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Higashi 23-35-1, Towada, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
authors: Masanori
authors: M
authors: Gojo
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Higashi 23-35-1, Towada, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
authors: Hiroyuki
authors: H
authors: Sugiyama
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Anatomy, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, 23-35-1 Higashi, Towada, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
authors: Kazuki
authors: K
authors: Yoshioka
authors: Laboratory of Biomolecular Function, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, 23-35-1 Higashi, Towada, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
authors: Yuji
authors: Y
authors: Yamamoto
authors: Laboratory of Zoonoses, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Higashi 23-35-1, Towada Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
authors: Masashi
authors: M
authors: Okamura
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Higashi 23-35-1, Towada, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
authors: Nobuyuki
authors: N
authors: Susa
authors: Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Higashi 23-35-1, Towada, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
authors: Shunji
authors: S
authors: Ueno
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001652:Bile Ducts / Q000601:surgery; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000150:complications*; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051379:Mice; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology*; D014735:Vibrio Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D041261:Vibrio vulnificus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000472:pathogenicity
keywords: Vibrio vulnificus; liver diseases; risk factor; sepsis