The new species Brucella microti replicates in macrophages and causes death in murine models of infection

• Published in: The Journal of Infectious Diseases
• Main Authors: Jiménez de Bagüés, María P, Ouahrani-Bettache, Safia, Quintana, Juan F, Mitjana, Olga, Hanna, Nabil, Bessoles, Stéphanie, Sanchez, Françoise, Scholz, Holger C, Lafont, Virginie, Köhler, Stephan, Occhialini, Alessandra
• Other Authors: Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón (CITA), Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier (IRIM), Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d’études d’Agents Pathogènes et Biotechologies pour la Santé (CPBS), Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: MESH: Brucella; MESH: Spleen; MESH: Mice; Inbred C57BL; MESH: Organ Size; MESH: Animals; MESH: Brucellosis; MESH: Humans; MESH: Liver; MESH: Macrophages; Inbred BALB C; [SDV.MP.BAC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology/Bacteriology; Common vole
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00509064; https://doi.org/10.1086/653084

International audience BACKGROUND: The recent isolation of Brucella microti from the common vole, the red fox, and the soil raises the possibility of an eventual reemergence of brucellosis in Europe. In this work, the pathogenic potential of this new Brucella species in both in vitro and in vivo models of infection was analyzed. METHODS: The ability of B. microti (as compared to that of the closely related species Brucella suis) to replicate in human macrophages and in human and murine macrophage-like cells was determined. The behavior of B. microti and B. suis was evaluated in vivo in murine models of infection with Balb/c, CD1, and C57BL/6 mice. Results: B. microti showed an enhanced capacity for intramacrophagic replication compared with that of B. suis. Surprisingly, and in contrast to other species of Brucella, 10(5) colony-forming units of B. microti killed 82% of Balb/c mice within 7 days. Infection of spleen and liver with B. microti peaked at day 3, compared with B. suis infection, which peaked at day 7. Sublethal doses of B. microti induced good protection against a subsequent challenge with lethal doses. CONCLUSIONS: In experimental cellular and murine infections, B. microti exhibited a high pathogenic potential, compared with other Brucella species.