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J Med Microbiol 57 (2008), 106-110; DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.47568-0
© 2008 Society for General Microbiology
ISSN 1473-5644

Development of a novel ex vivo insect model for studying virulence determinants of Escherichia coli K1

Behzad Mokri-Moayyed, Graham John Goldsworthy and Naveed Ahmed Khan

Department of Biology, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK

Correspondence
Naveed Ahmed Khan
n.khan{at}sbc.bbk.ac.uk

Received 10 August 2007
Accepted 26 September 2007

A key step in Escherichia coli K1 meningitis is the crossing of the blood-brain barrier by the bacteria in order to gain entry into the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, a novel ex vivo model to study E. coli K1 invasion of the CNS is described that uses the African migratory locust, Locusta migratoria. By injecting bacteria into isolated locust head capsules, it was demonstrated that E. coli K1 invade the locust brain within 2 h in numbers depending on the concentration of bacteria injected. Using several mutants derived from K1, it was shown that outer-membrane protein A is a critical bacterial determinant required for the E. coli K1 invasion. The isogenic gene-deletion mutants, {Delta}fimH, {Delta}cnf1, {Delta}neuDB and a rough LPS mutant showed significantly reduced invasion of locust brain. This novel model for the study of E. coli K1 pathogenesis offers several advantages over existing mammalian models in relation to its relative ease of use, cost-effectiveness and ethical acceptability.

Abbreviations: CNS, central nervous system; HBMEC, human brain microvascular endothelial cells.




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 J Antimicrob ChemotherHome page
N. A. Khan, K. Osman, and G. J. Goldsworthy
Lysates of Locusta migratoria brain exhibit potent broad-spectrum antibacterial activity
J. Antimicrob. Chemother., September 1, 2008; 62(3): 634 - 635.
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