title: Experimental Pseudomonas aeruginosa mediated rhino sinusitis in mink.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The nasal and sinus cavities in children may serve as reservoirs for microorganisms that cause recurrent and chronic lung infections. This study evaluates whether the mink can be used as an animal model for studying Pseudomonas aeruginosa mediated rhino-sinusitis since there is no suitable traditional animal model for this disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nasal tissue samples from infected and control mink were fixed in formalin, demineralized, and embedded in paraffin. A histological examination of sections from the infected animals revealed disintegration of the respiratory epithelium lining the nasal turbinates and swelling and edema of the submucosa. The expression of mucins and sialylated glycans was examined using immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MUC1, MUC2 and MUC5AC were upregulated in the inoculated animals as a much stronger staining was present in the respiratory epithelium in the infected animals compared to the controls. The goblet cells in the nasal epithelium from the infected mink showed high affinity to the Maackia amurensis lectin and anti-asialo GM1 indicating a high concentration of α2-3 sialic acid respectively βGalNAc1-4Galβ containing glycans in these mucin producing cells. The nasal cavity in the infected mink shows features of carbohydrate expression comparable to what has been described in the respiratory system after Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in humans.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is suggested that the mink is suitable for studying Pseudomonas aeruginosa mediated rhino-sinusitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, Dental School, Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Nørre Alle 20, 2200, Copenhagen N, Denmark. Electronic address: skir@sund.ku.dk.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kirkeby
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Rigshospitalet, Institute for Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Høiby
authors.affiliation: National Veterinary Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Salomonsen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008907:Mink; D009077:Mucins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D012852:Sinusitis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D009077:Mucins
keywords: Mink; Mucin; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Rhino-sinusitis; Sialic acid