Article

Utility of the Citrobacter rodentium infection model in laboratory mice.

Division of Comparative Medicine, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
Current opinion in gastroenterology (impact factor: 4.33). 02/2008; 24(1):32-7. DOI:10.1097/MOG.0b013e3282f2b0fb
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT There have been considerable advances in our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and enterohemorrhagic E. coli infection. Given the difficulty of infecting laboratory mice with these diarrhea-causing pathogens, a growing number of studies have found the murine bacterial pathogen Citrobacter rodentium to provide a robust, relevant in-vivo model system.
All inbred strains and outbred stocks of laboratory mice studied to date have been found to be susceptible to C. rodentium infection. The natural course of disease ranges from subclinical epithelial hyperplasia in the colon, to clinical diarrhea and colitis, to fatal infection, depending on the age, genetic background, and health status of the host. Infection is self-limiting, leading to disease resolution and protective immunity. Here we review recent discoveries related to bacterial virulence determinants, epithelial hyperplasia, innate and adaptive immune responses, and mechanisms of diarrhea.
Infection of laboratory mice with C. rodentium provides a useful in-vivo model for studying the pathogenesis of infectious gastroenteritis and acute diarrheal illness, and for preclinical evaluation of candidate preventive and therapeutic agents.

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Keywords

acute diarrheal illness
 
adaptive immune responses
 
bacterial virulence determinants
 
C. rodentium
 
C. rodentium infection
 
diarrhea-causing pathogens
 
disease ranges
 
enterohemorrhagic E. coli infection
 
enteropathogenic Escherichia coli
 
epithelial hyperplasia
 
fatal infection
 
growing number
 
health status
 
inbred strains
 
infecting laboratory mice
 
murine bacterial pathogen Citrobacter rodentium
 
relevant in-vivo model system
 
subclinical epithelial hyperplasia
 
therapeutic agents
 
useful in-vivo model