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Query: UMLS:C0023241 (Legionella)
 6,990 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Legionella pneumophila is a facultative intracellular bacterium which readily grows in cultures of guinea pig and human mononuclear phagocytes. In this report, we demonstrate that the Legionella sp. also grows in thioglycolate-elicited macrophages obtained from A/J mice but not in cells from other mouse strains tested, such as BDF1, DBA/2, C3H/HeN, C57BL/6, and BALB/c. Growth of Listeria monocytogenes and interleukin-1 production in A/J mice were similar to their growth and production in other strains tested, and the growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis was restricted by A/J macrophages. This finding suggests that although A/J macrophages share functional capabilities with cells from other mouse strains, they differ in growth restriction capacity for the Legionella sp. Resident macrophages were less permissive than were thioglycolate-elicited cells in that resident cells from A/J mice failed to support the growth of Legionella pneumophila. Also, resident cells from BDF1 mice rapidly eliminated the bacteria, rather than merely restricting growth. This finding was also observed in in vivo studies in which thioglycolate pretreatment of mice resulted in the enhanced recovery of viable bacteria from the peritoneal cavity of mice infected intraperitoneally. Higher numbers of bacteria were obtained from A/J mice and, in addition, this strain was more susceptible to the lethal effects of Legionella infection. These data suggest that, as with other intracellular bacteria, macrophages may serve a pivotal role in the early stages of Legionella infection and further suggest that the A/J mouse represents a useful animal model for the study of Legionella infection and immunity.
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PMID:Growth of Legionella pneumophila in thioglycolate-elicited peritoneal macrophages from A/J mice. 325 60

We present here a new model of Legionella pneumophila lung infection in DBA/2 mice. By intranasal inoculation with 106 colony-forming units of L. pneumophila strain suzuki serogoup 1, persistent non-lethal lung infection was established as reflected by the detection of more than 10(4) CFU/lung of the organism 14 days after infection. Treatment of mice with cyclophosphamide before infection enhanced bacterial replication in the lungs and all cyclophosphamide-treated mice experienced lethal infection. Histopathologically, the course of non-lethal lung infection was characterized by early response of neutrophiles, then monocyte/macrophages response in the alveoli with disease progression, and diffuse alveolar wall thickening with lymphocyte migration at later phase of infection. Transmission electron microscopic evaluation of the lungs confirmed that L. pneumophila located intracellularly within neutrophiles and infrequently intracellular bacteria were observed undergoing binary fission. Therefore, the mouse model of replicative L. pneumophila lung infection provides method for evaluating pathogenesis of L. pneumophila lung infection and antibacterial therapy.
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PMID:[Novel model of replicative Legionella pneumophila lung infection in DBA/2 mice]. 2005 21

The in vitro and in vivo antibacterial activities of levofloxacin (LVFX), a quinolone antibacterial, against clinically isolated Legionella pneumophila were investigated in comparison with those of existing antimicrobial agents approved for legionnaires disease. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the agents against 42 strains of L. pneumophila isolated in Japan were determined using agar dilution methods with buffered starch yeast extract agar. MIC90 of LVFX was 0.03 microg/ml and this activity was similar to ciprofloxacin and pazufloxacin, and higher than telithromycin and minocycline. Therapeutic efficacy of LVFX was studied against a pneumonia model induced by intranasal of L. pneumophila strain suzuki serogoup 1 in DBA/2 mice. Therapeutic doses in mice were selected that would closely match human exposure profile, area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) for a human oral dose of LVFX at 500 mg once a day. LVFX decreased significantly the bacterial burden in the lungs from the next day of commencing treatment. These results, including in vitro antibacterial activity against clinical isolates and therapeutic efficacy of a humanized dosing regimen, provide good evidence to support the use of LVFX at 500 mg once a day for treating patient with legionnaires disease.
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PMID:[Therapeutic efficacy of levofloxacin against a model of replicable Legionella pneumophila lung infection in DBA/2 mice]. 2005 22