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Pneumonic Tularemia in Rabbits Resembles the Human Disease as Illustrated by Radiographic and Hematological Changes after Infection

BACKGROUND: Pneumonic tularemia is caused by inhalation of the gram negative bacterium, Francisella tularensis. Because of concerns that tularemia could be used as a bioterrorism agent, vaccines and therapeutics are urgently needed. Animal models of pneumonic tularemia with a pathophysiology similar...

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Autores principales: Reed, Douglas S., Smith, Le'Kneitah, Dunsmore, Tammy, Trichel, Anita, Ortiz, Luis A., Cole, Kelly Stefano, Barry, Eileen
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3172242/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21931798
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024654
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author Reed, Douglas S.
Smith, Le'Kneitah
Dunsmore, Tammy
Trichel, Anita
Ortiz, Luis A.
Cole, Kelly Stefano
Barry, Eileen
author_facet Reed, Douglas S.
Smith, Le'Kneitah
Dunsmore, Tammy
Trichel, Anita
Ortiz, Luis A.
Cole, Kelly Stefano
Barry, Eileen
author_sort Reed, Douglas S.
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Pneumonic tularemia is caused by inhalation of the gram negative bacterium, Francisella tularensis. Because of concerns that tularemia could be used as a bioterrorism agent, vaccines and therapeutics are urgently needed. Animal models of pneumonic tularemia with a pathophysiology similar to the human disease are needed to evaluate the efficacy of these potential medical countermeasures. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Rabbits exposed to aerosols containing Francisella tularensis strain SCHU S4 developed a rapidly progressive fatal pneumonic disease. Clinical signs became evident on the third day after exposure with development of a fever (>40.5°C) and a sharp decline in both food and water intake. Blood samples collected on day 4 found lymphopenia and a decrease in platelet counts coupled with elevations in erythrocyte sedimentation rate, alanine aminotransferase, cholesterol, granulocytes and monocytes. Radiographs demonstrated the development of pneumonia and abnormalities of intestinal gas consistent with ileus. On average, rabbits were moribund 5.1 days after exposure; no rabbits survived exposure at any dose (190–54,000 cfu). Gross evaluation of tissues taken at necropsy showed evidence of pathology in the lungs, spleen, liver, kidney and intestines. Bacterial counts confirmed bacterial dissemination from the lungs to the liver and spleen. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The pathophysiology of pneumonic tularemia in rabbits resembles what has been reported for humans. Rabbits therefore are a relevant model of the human disease caused by type A strains of F. tularensis.
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spelling pubmed-31722422011-09-19 Pneumonic Tularemia in Rabbits Resembles the Human Disease as Illustrated by Radiographic and Hematological Changes after Infection Reed, Douglas S. Smith, Le'Kneitah Dunsmore, Tammy Trichel, Anita Ortiz, Luis A. Cole, Kelly Stefano Barry, Eileen PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: Pneumonic tularemia is caused by inhalation of the gram negative bacterium, Francisella tularensis. Because of concerns that tularemia could be used as a bioterrorism agent, vaccines and therapeutics are urgently needed. Animal models of pneumonic tularemia with a pathophysiology similar to the human disease are needed to evaluate the efficacy of these potential medical countermeasures. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Rabbits exposed to aerosols containing Francisella tularensis strain SCHU S4 developed a rapidly progressive fatal pneumonic disease. Clinical signs became evident on the third day after exposure with development of a fever (>40.5°C) and a sharp decline in both food and water intake. Blood samples collected on day 4 found lymphopenia and a decrease in platelet counts coupled with elevations in erythrocyte sedimentation rate, alanine aminotransferase, cholesterol, granulocytes and monocytes. Radiographs demonstrated the development of pneumonia and abnormalities of intestinal gas consistent with ileus. On average, rabbits were moribund 5.1 days after exposure; no rabbits survived exposure at any dose (190–54,000 cfu). Gross evaluation of tissues taken at necropsy showed evidence of pathology in the lungs, spleen, liver, kidney and intestines. Bacterial counts confirmed bacterial dissemination from the lungs to the liver and spleen. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The pathophysiology of pneumonic tularemia in rabbits resembles what has been reported for humans. Rabbits therefore are a relevant model of the human disease caused by type A strains of F. tularensis. Public Library of Science 2011-09-13 /pmc/articles/PMC3172242/ /pubmed/21931798 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024654 Text en Reed et al. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Reed, Douglas S.
Smith, Le'Kneitah
Dunsmore, Tammy
Trichel, Anita
Ortiz, Luis A.
Cole, Kelly Stefano
Barry, Eileen
Pneumonic Tularemia in Rabbits Resembles the Human Disease as Illustrated by Radiographic and Hematological Changes after Infection
title Pneumonic Tularemia in Rabbits Resembles the Human Disease as Illustrated by Radiographic and Hematological Changes after Infection
title_full Pneumonic Tularemia in Rabbits Resembles the Human Disease as Illustrated by Radiographic and Hematological Changes after Infection
title_fullStr Pneumonic Tularemia in Rabbits Resembles the Human Disease as Illustrated by Radiographic and Hematological Changes after Infection
title_full_unstemmed Pneumonic Tularemia in Rabbits Resembles the Human Disease as Illustrated by Radiographic and Hematological Changes after Infection
title_short Pneumonic Tularemia in Rabbits Resembles the Human Disease as Illustrated by Radiographic and Hematological Changes after Infection
title_sort pneumonic tularemia in rabbits resembles the human disease as illustrated by radiographic and hematological changes after infection
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3172242/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21931798
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024654
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