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Infection and Immunity, March 2005, p. 1723-1734, Vol. 73, No. 3
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.3.1723-1734.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Age Alterations in Extent and Severity of Experimental Intranasal Infection with Chlamydophila pneumoniae in BALB/c Mice

C. Scott Little,1 Andrew Bowe,1 Richard Lin,1 Jason Litsky,1 Robert M. Fogel,1 Brian J. Balin,1 and Kerin L. Fresa-Dillon1*

Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania1

Received 5 May 2004/ Returned for modification 21 June 2004/ Accepted 28 October 2004

The intracellular bacterium Chlamydophila ("Chlamydia") pneumoniae is a pathogen for several respiratory diseases and may be a factor in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases of aging including atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. We assessed whether aging is coupled with increased burden of infection in BALB/c mice after intranasal infection by C. pneumoniae. Six- and twenty-month-old BALB/c mice were infected intranasally with 5 x 104 inclusion forming units (IFU) or 5 x 105 IFU of C. pneumoniae. Lung, brain, and heart tissue were analyzed for infectious C. pneumoniae and for Chlamydophila antigen by immunohistochemistry. At both doses, aging was associated with a decreased proportion of animals that cleared infection from the lung and greater burden of infectious organism within the lung. We observed dose-dependent spread to the heart/ascending aorta in animals infected with C. pneumoniae. In mice given 5 x 104 IFU, spread to the heart by day 14 was only observed in old mice. By day 28, all animals inoculated with 5 x 104 IFU showed evidence of spread to the heart, although higher C. pneumoniae titers were observed in the hearts from old mice. In mice inoculated with 5 x 105 IFU, spread of C. pneumoniae to the heart was evident by day 14, with no discernible age effect. C. pneumoniae was also recovered from the central nervous system (brain and olfactory bulb) of all mice by day 28 postinfection, with higher C. pneumoniae titers in old animals than in young animals. Our results suggest that infection with C. pneumoniae may be more severe in old animals.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, 4170 City Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19131. Phone: (215) 871-6864. Fax: (215) 871-6869. E-mail: kerinf{at}pcom.edu.

Editor: J. N. Weiser

Infection and Immunity, March 2005, p. 1723-1734, Vol. 73, No. 3
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.3.1723-1734.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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