Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections have been associated with increased susceptibility to serious bacterial infections in transplant patients and in young infants. To explore further the mechanisms by which CMV infection alters susceptibility to bacterial infections 3-week-old Swiss-Webster mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with murine CMV (MCMV) and then were challenged intranasally with E. coli Kl. In MCMV-infected animals, challenge with E. coli resulted in enhanced mortality (70-90% vs 0-20% in controls). Mortality was greatest when animals were infected with E. coli on days 1 or 3 after MCMV inoculation. Clearance of E. coli from blood and organs was impaired on day 3 of the MCMV infection. Forty-eight hours after E. coli inoculation, MCMV-infected animals had greater bacterial counts than control animals in blood (104·5 E. coli/ml in MCMV-infected vs 101 controls), in lung (107 E. coli/g vs 103·5), in spleen (104·5vs 101) and in liver (104·5 vs 101). In addition, MCMV-infected animals exhibited a diminished inflammatory response to a subcutaneously implanted sponge containing 108 E. coli (mean of 740 WBC/mm3 in MCMV-infected vs 5783 WBC/mm3 in controls). These results indicate that infection with MCMV enhances susceptibility to intranasal E. coli infection and suggest that acute CMV infection alters host inflammatory response to a bacterial stimulus.
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Bale, J., Kern, E., Overall, J. et al. 986 THE PATHOGENESIS OF COMBINED MURINE CYTOMEGALOVIRUS AND ESCHERICHIA COLI Kl INFECTION IN MICE. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 607 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01011
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01011