TY - JOUR
T1 - Recovery from mild Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection in young and aged C57BL/6 mice with intact flora estimated by fecal shedding, locomotor activity and grip strength
AU - Malavolta, Marco
AU - Basso, Andrea
AU - Giacconi, Robertina
AU - Orlando, Fiorenza
AU - Pierpaoli, Elisa
AU - Cardelli, Maurizio
AU - Leoni, Francesca
AU - Chierichetti, Serena
AU - Bray, Dorothy
AU - Benlhassan, Khadija
AU - Provinciali, Mauro
PY - 2019/4/1
Y1 - 2019/4/1
N2 - Escherichia coli 0157:H7 is a food-borne pathogen that can cause severe complications in vulnerable populations. Mouse infection models of E. coli 0157:H7 are usually developed under severe animal suffering classification by depleting the normal flora, in which age plays a role. Objective: To develop a refined method for longitudinal monitoring of E. coli 0157:H7 in young and old mice with intact flora. Methods: We applied discriminant analysis and computed composite standardized scores from 19 variables obtained from physiological parameters, analysis of locomotor activity, grip strength measurement and fecal shedding in 16 aged and 16 young C57BL/6 mice after two mild oral challenges of E. coli 0157:H7. The resulting scores were validated in another experiment performed in 24 aged and 24 young mice including a group (8 aged and 8 young mice) treated with oxytetracycline. Results: We show that our scores are significantly affected in the post-infection period and that can be used to measure and compare the recovery time after a treatment. The scores are most sensitive when separately developed in young and aged mice. Conclusions: We developed a method that minimizes the level of animal suffering and that can be applied in preclinical testing of new therapies.
AB - Escherichia coli 0157:H7 is a food-borne pathogen that can cause severe complications in vulnerable populations. Mouse infection models of E. coli 0157:H7 are usually developed under severe animal suffering classification by depleting the normal flora, in which age plays a role. Objective: To develop a refined method for longitudinal monitoring of E. coli 0157:H7 in young and old mice with intact flora. Methods: We applied discriminant analysis and computed composite standardized scores from 19 variables obtained from physiological parameters, analysis of locomotor activity, grip strength measurement and fecal shedding in 16 aged and 16 young C57BL/6 mice after two mild oral challenges of E. coli 0157:H7. The resulting scores were validated in another experiment performed in 24 aged and 24 young mice including a group (8 aged and 8 young mice) treated with oxytetracycline. Results: We show that our scores are significantly affected in the post-infection period and that can be used to measure and compare the recovery time after a treatment. The scores are most sensitive when separately developed in young and aged mice. Conclusions: We developed a method that minimizes the level of animal suffering and that can be applied in preclinical testing of new therapies.
KW - Aging
KW - Escherichia coli
KW - Grip strength
KW - Locomotor activity
KW - Non-invasive phenotyping
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85058949897&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85058949897&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cimid.2018.12.003
DO - 10.1016/j.cimid.2018.12.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 30961802
AN - SCOPUS:85058949897
VL - 63
SP - 1
EP - 9
JO - Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
JF - Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
SN - 0147-9571
ER -