title: A Novel Mouse Model of Staphylococcus aureus Vascular Graft Infection: Noninvasive Imaging of Biofilm Development in Vivo.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus causes very serious infections of vascular grafts. Knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of this disease is largely lacking because of the absence of representable models. Therefore, the aim of this study was to set up a mouse model of vascular graft infections that closely mimics the human situation. A catheter was inserted into the right carotid artery of mice, which acted as a vascular graft. Mice were infected i.v. using 8 different S. aureus strains, and development of the infection was followed up. Although all strains had varying abilities to form biofilm in vitro and different levels of virulence in mice, they all caused biofilm formation on the grafts. This graft infection was monitored using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and18F-fluordeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). MRI allowed the quantification of blood flow through the arteries, which was decreased in the catheter after infection. FDG-PET revealed high inflammation levels at the site of the catheter after infection. This model closely resembles the situation in patients, which is characterized by a tight interplay between pathogen and host, and can therefore be used for the testing of novel treatment, diagnosis, and prevention strategies. In addition, combining MRI and PET with microscopic techniques provides an appropriate way to characterize the course of these infections and to precisely analyze biofilm development.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany. Electronic address: helene.vandevyver@uni-muenster.de.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van de Vyver
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Philipp R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Bovenkamp
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany; Institute of Medical Microbiology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hoerr
authors.affiliation: European Institute for Molecular Imaging, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schwegmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tuchscherr
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niemann
authors.affiliation: Biofilmcenter, German Heart Institute Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kursawe
authors.affiliation: Center for Sepsis Control and Care, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany; Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grosse
authors.affiliation: Biofilmcenter, German Heart Institute Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moter
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Musculoskeletal Medicine, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: Center for Sepsis Control and Care, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany; Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Jena, Germany; Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Jena, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Neugebauer
authors.affiliation: European Institute for Molecular Imaging, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Kuhlmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany; Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence (EXC 1003 - CiM), University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: European Institute for Molecular Imaging, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hermann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Löffler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis / Q000382:microbiology; D055499:Catheter-Related Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus