Persistence of Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever, in murine adipose tissue.

ABSTRACT: Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever, is known to persist in humans and rodents but its cellular reservoir in hosts remains undetermined. We hypothesized that adipose tissue serves as a C. burnetii reservoir during bacterial latency. BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice were infected with C. burnetii by the intraperitoneal route or the intracheal route. Adipose tissue was tested for the presence of C. burnetii several months after infection. C. burnetii was detected in abdominal, inguinal and dorsal adipose tissue 4 months post-infection, when no bacteria were detected in blood, liver, lungs and spleen, regardless of the inoculation route and independently of mouse strain. The transfer of abdominal adipose tissue from convalescent BALB/c mice to naïve immunodeficient mice resulted in the infection o

SUBMITTER: Bechah Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4023977 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature