Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1987 Mar;25(3):480–484. doi: 10.1128/jcm.25.3.480-484.1987

Improved rat model for studying Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

M S Bartlett, S F Queener, M A Jay, M M Durkin, J W Smith
PMCID: PMC265957  PMID: 2952669

Abstract

Sprague-Dawley rats treated for 8 weeks with cortisone acetate (25 mg per rat twice weekly) were immunosuppressed to variable degrees. A total of 55% lost over 12% of their initial body weight, had cortisol concentrations in serum more than five times greater than those of the controls, and had markedly depressed ratios of helper to non-helper T cells, in both the spleen and peripheral blood. Animals that gained weight during immunosuppression had cortisol concentrations in serum only three times higher than those of the controls, had normal ratios of helper to non-helper T cells in the spleen, and had only modestly reduced T-cell ratios in peripheral blood. The degree of Pneumocystis pneumonia was evaluated in impression smears and sections of lungs taken from immunosuppressed rats. Pneumocystis infections were more severe in the rats that showed the greatest weight loss. Weight change during immunosuppression may therefore be used as a reliable means for predicting the degree of Pneumocystis infection in living rats. This protocol allows the selection of uniformly infected rats for studies assessing drug therapy of Pneumocystis pneumonia.

Full text

PDF
484

Selected References

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

  1. Bartlett M. S., Verbanac P. A., Smith J. W. Cultivation of Pneumocystis carinii with WI-38 cells. J Clin Microbiol. 1979 Dec;10(6):796–799. doi: 10.1128/jcm.10.6.796-799.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. D'Antonio R. G., Johnson D. B., Winn R. E., van Dellen A. F., Evans M. E. Effect of folinic acid on the capacity of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole to prevent and treat Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in rats. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1986 Feb;29(2):327–329. doi: 10.1128/aac.29.2.327. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Frenkel J. K., Good J. T., Shultz J. A. Latent Pneumocystis infection of rats, relapse, and chemotherapy. Lab Invest. 1966 Oct;15(10):1559–1577. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Garlinghouse L. E., Jr, Van Hoosier G. L., Jr Studies on adjuvant-induced arthritis, tumor transplantability, and serologic response to bovine serum albumin in Sendai virus-infected rats. Am J Vet Res. 1978 Feb;39(2):297–300. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hughes W. T., Kuhn S., Chaudhary S., Feldman S., Verzosa M., Aur R. J., Pratt C., George S. L. Successful chemoprophylaxis for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonitis. N Engl J Med. 1977 Dec 29;297(26):1419–1426. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197712292972602. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hughes W. T., Smith B. L., Jacobus D. P. Successful treatment and prevention of murine Pneumocystis carinii pneumonitis with 4,4'-sulfonylbisformanilide. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1986 Mar;29(3):509–510. doi: 10.1128/aac.29.3.509. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hussain Z., Carlson M. L., Craig I. D., Lannigan R. Efficacy of tetroxoprim/sulphadiazine in the treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonitis in rats. J Antimicrob Chemother. 1985 May;15(5):575–578. doi: 10.1093/jac/15.5.575. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kluge R. M., Spaulding D. M., Spain A. J. Combination of pentamidine and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in therapy of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in rats. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1978 Jun;13(6):975–978. doi: 10.1128/aac.13.6.975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lanken P. N., Minda M., Pietra G. G., Fishman A. P. Alveolar response to experimental Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in the rat. Am J Pathol. 1980 Jun;99(3):561–588. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Matsumoto Y., Yoshida Y. Sporogony in Pneumocystis carinii: synaptonemal complexes and meiotic nuclear divisions observed in precysts. J Protozool. 1984 Aug;31(3):420–428. doi: 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1984.tb02989.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Rinaldo C. R., Jr, Carney W. P., Richter B. S., Black P. H., Hirsch M. S. Mechanisms of immunosuppression in cytomegaloviral mononucleosis. J Infect Dis. 1980 Apr;141(4):488–495. doi: 10.1093/infdis/141.4.488. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Walzer P. D., LaBine M., Redington T. J., Cushion M. T. Lymphocyte changes during chronic administration of and withdrawal from corticosteroids: relation to Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. J Immunol. 1984 Nov;133(5):2502–2508. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Yoshida Y., Matsumoto Y., Yamada M., Okabayashi K., Yoshikawa H., Nakazawa M. Pneumocystis carinii: electron microscopic investigation on the interaction of trophozoite and alveolar lining cell. Zentralbl Bakteriol Mikrobiol Hyg A. 1984 Mar;256(3):390–399. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES