Evaluation of mouse enteroids as a model for Lawsonia intracellularis infection

AbstractLawsonia intracellularis, an obligate intracellular bacterium, is an important enteric pathogen in pig herds and horse farms worldwide. The hallmark feature ofL. intracellularis infection is the proliferation of epithelial cells in intestinal crypts. A major limitation to the study ofL. intracellularis infection is the lack of an in vitro model that reproduces the changes observed in proliferative enteropathy. Here we investigated the suitability of mouse enteroids as a model to studyL. intracellularis infection. Mouse enteroids were microinjected withL. intracellularis, filter-sterilizedL. intracellularis culture supernatant, or sterile cell culture media (DMEM).L. intracellularis antigen was detected in mouse enteroids by immunohistochemistry and was located mostly in the basal region of the epithelium. There was no differential growth of enteroids among treatment groups, and cellular proliferation was not increased inL. intracellularis-infected enteroids in relation to non-infected enteroids based on immunofluorescence staining.L. intracellularis infection did not induce changes in gene expression ofKi-67 (proliferation marker),Sox9 (marker for transit amplifying cells) andMuc2 (marker for goblet cells). These results indicate that althoughL. intracellularis antigen is detectable in mouse enteroids, indicating susceptibility to infection, mouse enteroids fail to replicate the cellular proliferation and gene expression changes observed in proliferative enteropathy. ...
Source: Veterinary Research - Category: Veterinary Research Source Type: research