IAI FigSearch
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Nowicki, B.
Right arrow Articles by Yallampalli, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nowicki, B.
Right arrow Articles by Yallampalli, C.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, May 1999, p. 2421-2427, Vol. 67, No. 5
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Inverse Relationship between Severity of Experimental Pyelonephritis and Nitric Oxide Production in C3H/HeJ Mice

Bogdan Nowicki,1,2,* Jyotsana Singhal,1 Li Fang,1,3 Stella Nowicki,1,2 and Chandrasekhar Yallampalli1,3

Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology,1 Microbiology & Immunology,2 and Anatomy & Neurosciences,3 The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, Texas

Received 24 June 1998/Returned for modification 8 December 1998/Accepted 11 February 1999

The contribution of nitric oxide to host resistance to experimental pyelonephritis is not well understood. We examined whether the inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis alters the sensitivity of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) responder (C3H/HeN) and nonresponder (C3H/HeJ) mice to experimental Escherichia coli pyelonephritis. C3H/HeJ and C3H/HeN mice were implanted subcutaneously with minipumps containing an inhibitor of nitric oxide, NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), or a corresponding vehicle. Ascending urinary tract infection by bladder catheterization with two strains of E. coli, an O75 strain bearing Dr fimbriae and an O75 strain bearing P fimbriae, was developed in tested animals. Twenty-four hours following bladder infection, the kidneys of C3H/HeN and C3H/HeJ mice were colonized at a similar rate. However, 5 weeks postinoculation, C3H/HeN mice cleared infection while C3H/HeJ mice showed persistent colonization. Twenty-four hours following infection, C3H/HeN mice treated with L-NAME showed no significant increase of renal tissue infection compared to the saline-treated control group. However, L-NAME-treated C3H/HeJ mice showed an approximately 100-fold increase in E. coli infection rate compared to the saline-treated controls in the Dr+ group but showed no change compared to those in the P+ group. Dissemination of Dr+ E. coli but not P+ E. coli to the liver and uterus was significantly enhanced with L-NAME treatment in C3H/HeJ mice only. Nitric oxide had no direct killing effect on E. coli in vitro. Nitrite production by various organs was found to be significantly lower in C3H/HeJ mice than in C3H/HeN mice. Alteration of nitric oxide and LPS responsiveness was significantly associated with the increased sensitivity of C3H/HeJ mice to experimental Dr+ but not to P+ E. coli pyelonephritis. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that nitric oxide synthase activity in concert with LPS responsiveness may participate in the antibacterial defense mechanisms of the C3H mouse urinary tract. This phenomenon is strain dependent and possibly related to the invasive properties of E. coli.

* Corresponding author. Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynecology, The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 301 University Blvd., Galveston, TX 77555-1062. Phone: (409) 772-7599. Fax: (409) 747-0475. E-mail: bnowicki{at}marlin.utmb.edu.

Infection and Immunity, May 1999, p. 2421-2427, Vol. 67, No. 5
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. J. Virol. Eukaryot. Cell
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Clin. Vaccine Immunol. All ASM Journals

Copyright © 1999 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.