Marine Mammal Brucella Reference Strains Are Attenuated in a BALB/c Mouse Model
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Date
2016
Authors
Nymo, Ingebjorg HelenaArias Cabrero, Maykel Alberto
Pardo, Julián
Álvarez, María Pilar
Jiménez de Bagüés Picazo, María Pilar
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Abstract
Brucellosis is a zoonosis of worldwide distribution with numerous animal host species.
Since the novel isolation of Brucella spp. from marine mammals in 1994 the bacteria have
been isolated from various marine mammal hosts. The marine mammal reference strains
Brucella pinnipedialis 12890 (harbour seal, Phoca vitulina) and Brucella ceti 12891 (harbour
porpoise, Phocoena phocoena) were included in genus Brucella in 2007, however, their
pathogenicity in the mouse model is pending. Herein this is evaluated in BALB/c mice with
Brucella suis 1330 as a control. Both marine mammal strains were attenuated, however, B.
ceti was present at higher levels than B. pinnipedialis in blood, spleen and liver throughout
the infection, in addition B. suis and B. ceti were isolated from brains and faeces at times
with high levels of bacteraemia. In B. suis-infected mice serum cytokines peaked at day 7.
In B. pinnipedialis-infected mice, levels were similar, but peaked predominantly at day 3
and an earlier peak in spleen weight likewise implied an earlier response. The inflammatory
response induced pathology in the spleen and liver. In B. ceti-infected mice, most serum
cytokine levels were comparable to those in uninfected mice, consistent with a limited
inflammatory response, which also was indicated by restricted spleen and liver pathology.
Specific immune responses against all three strains were detected in vitro after stimulation
of splenocytes from infected mice with the homologous heat-killed brucellae. Antibody
responses in vivo were also induced by the three brucellae. The immunological pattern of B.
ceti in combination with persistence in organs and limited pathology has heretofore not
been described for other brucellae. These two marine mammal wildtype strains show an
attenuated pattern in BALB/c mice only previously described for Brucella neotomea.
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Plos One
AGROVOC subjects
Mamíferos acuáticosBrucella
Other field subjects
Producción y sanidad animalSponsorship
This work was supported by the grants
RTA 2013-00065-C02-01 from The National Institute
for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology
(INIA) and agrifood research in Spain (MPJdB) and
SAF2014-54763-C2 from the European Social Fund
(JP). The funders had no role in study design, data
collection and analysis, decision to publish, or
preparation of the manuscript.