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Infection and Immunity, July 2003, p. 3852-3856, Vol. 71, No. 7
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.7.3852-3856.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Characterization of Transmission of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. muris through Immunocompetent BALB/c Mice

F. Gigliotti,1* A. G. Harmsen,2 and T. W. Wright1

Department of Pediatrics and of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York 14642,1 Veterinary Molecular Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 597172

Received 6 March 2003/ Returned for modification 27 March 2003/ Accepted 4 April 2003

By using mouse models, it has been shown that Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. muris can be transmitted to immunocompetent mice that are exposed to immunosuppressed mice with active P. carinii pneumonia. We sought to determine whether P. carinii f. sp. muris could be transmitted between normal mice. The rationale for these experiments was to demonstrate whether the normal host could serve as the reservoir of organisms that produce Pcp when the organism is acquired by the immunosuppressed host. Under the conditions of these experiments, normal mice are able to be infected by brief cohousing with P. carinii-infected SCID mice. There was active replication of organisms in the normal host such that the organism could be transmitted to other normal mice, again with active replication. Mice that had seroconverted after exposure to P. carinii-infected SCID mice were more resistant to infection when reexposed. Infection in normal mice was well tolerated with minimal effects on dynamic lung compliance. We speculate, based on these results, that transmission from normal host to normal host, as an asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic infection, could be a way to maintain this opportunistic pathogen in the environment.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Pediatrics and of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Ave., Box 690, Rochester, NY 14642. Phone: (585) 275-5944. Fax: (585) 273-1104. E-mail: francis_gigliotti{at}urmc.rochester.edu.

Editor: T. R. Kozel

Infection and Immunity, July 2003, p. 3852-3856, Vol. 71, No. 7
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.7.3852-3856.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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