APPLICATIONS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A STREPTOMYCIN MOUSE MODEL FOR SHIGELLOSIS

Abstract

Shigella flexneri is the causative agent of dysentery. An oral murine infection model, that uses the broad-spectrum antibiotic streptomycin prior to Shigella infection, has been established and displays hallmarks of Shigella infection in humans. I used streptomycin pretreated BALB/c mice to characterize the role of OspG during infection. Shigella mutant ΔospG causes 30% mortality accompanied by a change in the gross pathology of the cecum and colon in these mice. Mortality returned to wild type infection levels when I complemented with WT OspG but not in mice infected with the ΔospGmut that does not interact with the host E2-ubiqutin conjugate. I infected a variety of mouse strains and found differences in susceptibility. I was able to show that host factors, bacteria effectors and facility differences play a role in disease severity to Shigella infection. I was successful in expanding our knowledge about the streptomycin mouse model.