Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
2002-6-13
pubmed:abstractText
Previous work in our labs has shown that avian Escherichia coli virulence is correlated with resistance to complement. Also, our studies have revealed that the presence of the increased serum survival gene (iss), known to contribute to the complement resistance and virulence of mammalian E. coli, may predict the virulent nature of an avian E. coli isolate. This relationship warrants further research, but further clarification of the relationship among virulence, complement resistance, and iss sequences requires use of complement susceptibility assays. Such assays, unfortunately, are labor-intensive, expensive, and difficult to perform. In the present study, the results of two complement susceptibility assays for 20 E. coli isolates, 10 incriminated in avian colibacillosis and 10 from the intestinal tracts of apparently healthy birds, were compared in an attempt to determine if flow cytometric analysis was a reasonable alternative to a viable count assay. In addition, the virulence of these isolates for chick embryos was determined, and each isolate was examined for the presence of iss using amplification techniques. The flow cytometric method was found to be repeatable for most isolates, and its results showed moderate agreement with those obtained through viable counts. All intestinal isolates of healthy birds proved avirulent using the embryo lethality assay; however, not all isolates from sick birds were demonstrated to be virulent. Possible explanations of these results include that the methods originally used to isolate these organisms failed to detect the illness-inciting strains or that the virulence of these strains had declined following initial isolation. Additionally, we must consider the possibility that the embryo lethality assay of virulence used here might not be sensitive enough to detect differences between these two groups of isolates. Also, it should be noted that virulence assays, such as the one used here, fail to account for predisposing host or environmental conditions, enabling a less virulent isolate to cause disease under natural conditions. Interestingly, the complement resistance of a strain was significantly associated with its lethality in embryos, and iss-containing isolates were significantly more likely than those lacking iss to be classified as complement-resistant and virulent. Such results, at least for this group of avian E. coli, suggest that there is a compelling but imperfect relationship among complement resistance, virulence, and the presence of iss. These results also suggest that the flow cytometric assay may be a reasonable alternative to the viable count method of determining complement resistance.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0005-2086
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
46
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
386-92
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Animals, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Biological Assay, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Chick Embryo, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Chickens, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Colony Count, Microbial, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Complement System Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Disease Susceptibility, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Escherichia coli, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Escherichia coli Infections, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Escherichia coli Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Flow Cytometry, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Polymerase Chain Reaction, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Poultry Diseases, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Proteins, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Reproducibility of Results, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Sensitivity and Specificity, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms, pubmed-meshheading:12061648-Virulence
pubmed:articleTitle
Complement resistance, as determined by viable count and flow cytometric methods, and its association with the presence of iss and the virulence of avian Escherichia coli.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Veterinary and Microbiological Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo 58105, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Comparative Study