Development of a novel ex vivo insect model for studying virulence determinants of Escherichia coli K1
Mokri-Moayyed, B. and Goldsworthy, Graham J. and Khan, Naveed Ahmed (2008) Development of a novel ex vivo insect model for studying virulence determinants of Escherichia coli K1. Journal of Medical Microbiology 57 (1), pp. 106-110. ISSN 0022-2615.
Abstract
A key step in Escherichia coli K1 meningitis is the crossing of the blood-brain barrier by the bacteria in order to gain entry into the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, a novel ex vivo model to study E. coli K1 invasion of the CNS is described that uses the African migratory locust, Locusta migratoria. By injecting bacteria into isolated locust head capsules, it was demonstrated that E. coli K1 invade the locust brain within 2 h in numbers depending on the concentration of bacteria injected. Using several mutants derived from K1, it was shown that outer-membrane protein A is a critical bacterial determinant required for the E. coli K1 invasion. The isogenic gene-deletion mutants, {Delta}fimH, {Delta}cnf1, {Delta}neuDB and a rough LPS mutant showed significantly reduced invasion of locust brain. This novel model for the study of E. coli K1 pathogenesis offers several advantages over existing mammalian models in relation to its relative ease of use, cost-effectiveness and ethical acceptability.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Aug 2010 14:09 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 16:49 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/1019 |
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