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. 2013 Jan 8:6:9.
doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-6-9.

Animal model of Mycoplasma fermentans respiratory infection

Antonio Yáñez  1 , Azucena Martínez-Ramos, Teresa Calixto, Francisco Javier González-Matus, José Antonio Rivera-Tapia, Silvia Giono, Constantino Gil, Lilia Cedillo
Affiliations

Animal model of Mycoplasma fermentans respiratory infection

Antonio Yáñez et al. BMC Res Notes. .

Abstract

Background: Mycoplasma fermentans has been associated with respiratory, genitourinary tract infections and rheumatoid diseases but its role as pathogen is controversial. The purpose of this study was to probe that Mycoplasma fermentans is able to produce respiratory tract infection and migrate to several organs on an experimental infection model in hamsters. One hundred and twenty six hamsters were divided in six groups (A-F) of 21 hamsters each. Animals of groups A, B, C were intratracheally injected with one of the mycoplasma strains: Mycoplasma fermentans P 140 (wild strain), Mycoplasma fermentans PG 18 (type strain) or Mycoplasma pneumoniae Eaton strain. Groups D, E, F were the negative, media, and sham controls. Fragments of trachea, lungs, kidney, heart, brain and spleen were cultured and used for the histopathological study. U frequency test was used to compare recovery of mycoplasmas from organs.

Results: Mycoplasmas were detected by culture and PCR. The three mycoplasma strains induced an interstitial pneumonia; they also migrated to several organs and persisted there for at least 50 days. Mycoplasma fermentans P 140 induced a more severe damage in lungs than Mycoplasma fermentans PG 18. Mycoplasma pneumoniae produced severe damage in lungs and renal damage.

Conclusions: Mycoplasma fermentans induced a respiratory tract infection and persisted in different organs for several weeks in hamsters. This finding may help to explain the ability of Mycoplasma fermentans to induce pneumonia and chronic infectious diseases in humans.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Lung damage produced by mycoplasma infection. Macroscopic appearance of lungs A. Control (uninfected hamster), B. hamster inoculated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae, C. hamster inoculated with Mycoplasma fermentans PG18 and D. hamster infected with Mycoplasma fermentans P 140. Animals infected (B, C, D) were injected with 0.1 ml of 106 CFU/ml of a culture of mycoplasmas. Mycoplasmas were recovered from the infected lungs.
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