Age Alterations in Extent and Severity of Experimental Intranasal Infection with Chlamydophila pneumoniae in BALB/c Mice
Open accessAbstract
The intracellular bacterium Chlamydophila(“Chlamydia”)pneumoniae is a pathogen for several respiratory diseases and may be a factor in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases of aging including atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. We assessed whether aging is coupled with increased burden of infection in BALB/c mice after intranasal infection by C. pneumoniae. Six- and twenty-month-old BALB/c mice were infected intranasally with 5 × 10 4 inclusion forming units (IFU) or 5 × 10 5 IFU of C. pneumoniae. Lung, brain, and heart tissue were analyzed for infectious C. pneumoniae and for Chlamydophila antigen by immunohistochemistry. At both doses, aging was associated with a decreased proportion of animals that cleared infection from the lung and greater burden of infectious organism within the lung. We observed dose-dependent spread to the heart/ascending aorta in animals infected with C. pneumoniae. In mice given 5 × 10 4 IFU, spread to the heart by day 14 was only observed in old mice. By day 28, all animals inoculated with 5 × 10 4 IFU showed evidence of spread to the heart, although higher C. pneumoniae titers were observed in the hearts from old mice. In mice inoculated with 5 × 10 5 IFU, spread of C. pneumoniae to the heart was evident by day 14, with no discernible age effect.C. pneumoniae was also recovered from the central nervous system (brain and olfactory bulb) of all mice by day 28 postinfection, with higher C. pneumoniae titers in old animals than in young animals. Our results suggest that infection with C. pneumoniae may be more severe in old animals.
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C. pneumoniae DNA, antigen and/or live bacteria have been detected in the brain of inoculated mice, which resulted in Aβ deposition or altered appearance of Aβ deposits.
“C. pneumoniae DNA, antigen and/or live bacteria have been detected in the brain of inoculated mice15–18, which resulted in Aβ deposition16,17 or altered appearance of Aβ deposits18.”
From Chlamydia pneumoniae can infect the central nervous system via the olfactory and trigeminal nerves and contributes to Alzheimer’s disease risk (2022) · cites this paper as [15]
The Results report C. pneumoniae antigen and viable bacteria in the brains of inoculated mice. The Discussion reports Aβ deposits in infected mice from previous work, but this study did not assess Aβ deposition and our copy does not report an altered appearance of Aβ deposits. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe mice used in these studies were wild-type mice and not mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, suggesting that C. pneumoniae can contribute to the neuropathologies associated with late-onset dementia.
“Importantly, the mice used in these studies were wild-type mice and not mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that C. pneumoniae can contribute to the neuropathologies associated with late-onset dementia.”
From Chlamydia pneumoniae can infect the central nervous system via the olfactory and trigeminal nerves and contributes to Alzheimer’s disease risk (2022) · cites this paper as [15]
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Research works printed but not linked: 2
- [24]24. Hudson, A. P., H. C. Gerard, J. A. Whittum-Hudson, D. M. Appelt, and B. J. Balin. 2000. Chlamydia pneumoniae , APOE genotype, and Alzheimer's disease. Springer-Verlag, New York, N.Y.
- [28]28. Korman, T. M., J. D. Turnidge, and M. L. Grayson. 1997. Neurological complications of chlamydial infections: case report and review. Clin. Infect. Dis. 25: 847-851.
Cited by
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Immunohistological detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae in the Alzheimer's disease brain
Hammond, C. J., Hallock, L. R., Howanski, R. J., Appelt, D. M., Little, C. S., & Balin, B. J. (2010) · BMC Neuroscience · doi:10.1186/1471-2202-11-121 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Self-citationVojtechova, I., Machacek, T., Kristofikova, Z., Stuchlik, A., & Petrasek, T. (2022) · PLOS Pathogens · doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1010929 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Chacko, A., Delbaz, A., Walkden, H., Basu, S., Armitage, C. W., Eindorf, T., Trim, L. K., Miller, E., West, N. P., St John, J. A., et al. (2022) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-06749-9 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
- Authors
- Little, C. S., Bowe, A., Lin, R., Litsky, J., Fogel, R. M., Balin, B. J., & Fresa-Dillon, K. L.
- Affiliations
- Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (US)
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- ORCID
- Balin, Brian J.
- Venue
- Infection and Immunity
- Publisher
- American Society for Microbiology
- Published
- 2005-03
- Volume
- 73
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1723-1734
- ISSN
- 0019-9567 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-5522
- PMC
- PMC1064908
- OpenAlex
- W2140796553
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Infection and Immunity (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- Digital Commons - PCOM (Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Aging (AG-18320, R15AG018320)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Microbial infections and disease research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Bacterial Infections and Vaccines
- Keywords
- Chlamydia pneumoniae, aging, intranasal infection, BALB/c mice, infection clearance, cardiac involvement, ascending aorta, central nervous system infection, olfactory bulb, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease
- MeSH terms
- Administration, Intranasal, Aging, Animals, Brain, Female, Heart, Lung, Mice, Inbred BALB C, Myocardium, Severity of Illness Index, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Chlamydophila Infections, Mice
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