Skip to main content
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1996 Oct;64(10):4373–4377. doi: 10.1128/iai.64.10.4373-4377.1996

Development of a germfree mouse model of Vibrio cholerae infection.

J R Butterton 1, E T Ryan 1, R A Shahin 1, S B Calderwood 1
PMCID: PMC174383  PMID: 8926115

Abstract

A mouse model of Vibrio cholerae infection was successfully developed with germfree mice. Three- to four-week-old germfree mice were orally inoculated with strains of V. cholerae to be tested and then moved to normal housing after inoculation. Stool culture, measurement of serum vibriocidal antibody titers, and determination of immune responses to the cholera toxin B subunit demonstrated that germfree mice are readily colonized by V cholerae and develop systemic and mucosal immune responses to antigens expressed by these organisms. Immune responses to the B subunit of Shiga toxin 1, which was expressed from a V. cholerae vaccine vector, were less pronounced. This model should be valuable for studying immune responses to V. cholerae infection and immunization, including responses to heterologous antigens expressed by cholera vector strains.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (251.9 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Brown W. R., Kloppel T. M. The role of the liver in translocation of IgA into the gastrointestinal tract. Immunol Invest. 1989 Jan-May;18(1-4):269–285. doi: 10.3109/08820138909112242. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Butterton J. R., Beattie D. T., Gardel C. L., Carroll P. A., Hyman T., Killeen K. P., Mekalanos J. J., Calderwood S. B. Heterologous antigen expression in Vibrio cholerae vector strains. Infect Immun. 1995 Jul;63(7):2689–2696. doi: 10.1128/iai.63.7.2689-2696.1995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Butterton J. R., Boyko S. A., Calderwood S. B. Use of the Vibrio cholerae irgA gene as a locus for insertion and expression of heterologous antigens in cholera vaccine strains. Vaccine. 1993 Oct;11(13):1327–1335. doi: 10.1016/0264-410x(93)90103-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Coster T. S., Killeen K. P., Waldor M. K., Beattie D. T., Spriggs D. R., Kenner J. R., Trofa A., Sadoff J. C., Mekalanos J. J., Taylor D. N. Safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of live attenuated Vibrio cholerae O139 vaccine prototype. Lancet. 1995 Apr 15;345(8955):949–952. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(95)90698-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cray W. C., Jr, Tokunaga E., Pierce N. F. Successful colonization and immunization of adult rabbits by oral inoculation with Vibrio cholerae O1. Infect Immun. 1983 Aug;41(2):735–741. doi: 10.1128/iai.41.2.735-741.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Czerkinsky C., Svennerholm A. M., Quiding M., Jonsson R., Holmgren J. Antibody-producing cells in peripheral blood and salivary glands after oral cholera vaccination of humans. Infect Immun. 1991 Mar;59(3):996–1001. doi: 10.1128/iai.59.3.996-1001.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Freter R., O'Brien P. C., Macsai M. S. Role of chemotaxis in the association of motile bacteria with intestinal mucosa: in vivo studies. Infect Immun. 1981 Oct;34(1):234–240. doi: 10.1128/iai.34.1.234-240.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Horsfall D. J., Rowley D. Modifications of the local immune response to Vibrio cholerate attributed to the intestinal microbial flora of the mouse. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci. 1978 Oct;56(5):579–586. doi: 10.1038/icb.1978.64. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Miller C. E., Wong K. H., Feeley J. C., Forlines M. E. Immunological conversion of Vibrio chorlerae in gnotobiotic mice. Infect Immun. 1972 Nov;6(5):739–742. doi: 10.1128/iai.6.5.739-742.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Owen R. L., Pierce N. F., Apple R. T., Cray W. C., Jr M cell transport of Vibrio cholerae from the intestinal lumen into Peyer's patches: a mechanism for antigen sampling and for microbial transepithelial migration. J Infect Dis. 1986 Jun;153(6):1108–1118. doi: 10.1093/infdis/153.6.1108. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Sack R. B., Miller C. E. Progressive changes of Vibrio serotypes in germ-free mice infected with Vibrio cholerae. J Bacteriol. 1969 Sep;99(3):688–695. doi: 10.1128/jb.99.3.688-695.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Shimamura T. Immune response in germfree mice orally immunized with Vibrio cholerae. Keio J Med. 1972 Jun;21(2):113–126. doi: 10.2302/kjm.21.113. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Waldor M. K., Colwell R., Mekalanos J. J. The Vibrio cholerae O139 serogroup antigen includes an O-antigen capsule and lipopolysaccharide virulence determinants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Nov 22;91(24):11388–11392. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.24.11388. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Waldor M. K., Mekalanos J. J. Emergence of a new cholera pandemic: molecular analysis of virulence determinants in Vibrio cholerae O139 and development of a live vaccine prototype. J Infect Dis. 1994 Aug;170(2):278–283. doi: 10.1093/infdis/170.2.278. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Infection and Immunity are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES