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Infection and Immunity, January 2001, p. 564-569, Vol. 69, No. 1
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.1.564-569.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Infection of Fetal Feline Brain Cells in Culture with Bartonella henselae

Karen R. Muñana,* Susanne M. Vitek, Barbara C. Hegarty, Dorsey L. Kordick,dagger and Edward B. Breitschwerdt

Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27606

Received 5 June 2000/Returned for modification 24 August 2000/Accepted 5 October 2000

Bartonella henselae is known to cause central nervous system (CNS) disease in humans, and neurological signs have been observed in experimentally infected cats. However, the pathogenesis of CNS disease remains unclear. This study was undertaken to determine whether B. henselae infects feline fetal brain cells in vitro. Microglial-cell- and astrocyte-enriched cultures were inoculated with B. henselae. Giménez staining identified bacterial organisms within microglial cells by day 7 postinoculation. The viability of the intracellular bacteria was demonstrated by incubating cultures with gentamicin and plating cell lysate on agar. Electron microscopy identified intracellular organisms with characteristic Bartonella morphology but identified no ultrastructural abnormalities within infected microglial cells. No evidence of infection was seen in Bartonella-inoculated astrocyte cultures. These findings suggest a role for microglia in the pathogenesis of B. henselae-associated neurological disease.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 4700 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC 27606. Phone: (919) 513-6231. Fax: (919) 513-6336. E-mail: Karen_Munana{at}ncsu.edu.

dagger Present address: Blue Ridge Pharmaceuticals, Greensboro, NC 27410.

Infection and Immunity, January 2001, p. 564-569, Vol. 69, No. 1
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.1.564-569.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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