Project:Immunological study of Acinetobacter infection in C3H mice

Location:Departments of Teaching and Research, Physical Checkup, Taichung Veterans General Hospital

Summery:

Acinetobacter baumannii outbreaks and antibiotic-resistance become a growing concern in hospitals worldwide recently. This study is aim to investigate the virulence of Acinetobacter from clinical isolates in C3H/HeJ and C3H/HeN mice. Four to six weeks old females were injected A. baumannii bacteria intraperitoneally. Serum levels of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a) were measured by ELISA and thyroid hormone T3 and T4 by RIA. Cytokine mRNA from tissues during infection were assayed by RT-PCR. The results showed that C3H/HeJ mice were more susceptible to A. baumannii infection than C3H/HeN mice. Increased TNF-a in the sera ocurred before their IL-10 levels in both strain of mice. Serum T3 and T4 levels from these A. baumannii infected mice reduced to 63% of the control values and more associated with mortality than paired cytokine profiles. These data suggest that cytokine and other host-responsive elements contribute pathogenesis of A. baumannii infection.