title: Insights into host-pathogen interactions from state-of-the-art animal models of respiratory Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.
abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic pathogen that can cause acute respiratory infections in immunocompetent patients or chronic infections in immunocompromised individuals and in patients with cystic fibrosis. When acquiring the chronic infection state, bacteria are encapsulated within biofilm structures enabling them to withstand diverse environmental assaults, including immune reactions and antimicrobial therapy. Understanding the molecular interactions within the bacteria, as well as with the host or other bacteria, is essential for developing innovative treatment strategies. Such knowledge might be accumulated in vitro. However, it is ultimately necessary to confirm these findings in vivo. In the present Review, we describe state-of-the-art in vivo models that allow studying P. aeruginosa infections in molecular detail. The portrayed mammalian models exclusively focus on respiratory infections. The data obtained by alternative animal models which lack lung tissue, often provide molecular insights that are easily transferable to mammals. Importantly, these surrogate in vivo systems reveal complex molecular interactions of P. aeruginosa with the host. Herein, we also provide a critical assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of such models.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bacteriology, Center of Clinical and Experimental Infection Research, TWINCORE GmbH, A Joint Venture of the Hannover Medical School and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Bacteriology, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.|Department of Molecular Immunology, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.|Institute of Immunology, Medical School Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Vinay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pawar
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bacteriology, Center of Clinical and Experimental Infection Research, TWINCORE GmbH, A Joint Venture of the Hannover Medical School and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Germany.|Department of Molecular Bacteriology, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Häussler
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Immunology, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.|Institute of Immunology, Medical School Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Siegfried
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018441:Biofilms; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000502:physiology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins
keywords: 
  P. aeruginosa
  ; animal models; biofilm; host-pathogen interaction; in vivo infections