We have developed a novel and powerful mouse model for identifying the mechanisms of Neisseria asymptomatic colonization and persistence. It avoids the issue of host restriction that have greatly impeded the field. It allows us to study two processes that have been intractible to experimention, asymptomatic colonization and persistence. It allows us to identify and dissect mechanisms of Neisseria-host interactions from the standpoint of both host and bacterium. Using this unique model, we will identify immune processes and mouse genes that are critical for host susceptibility to Neisseria asymptomatic colonization/persistence, and bacterial genes that are critical for these processes.
How a bacterium manages to colonize and persist in the body in the presence of a healthy immune system is an important but poorly understood issue. We have developed a novel and powerful mouse model to study the mechanisms underlying this microbe-host coexistence, from the standpoint of both the microbe and the host. Our model will also help us understand how some pathogens manage to cause asymptomatic infection.
| Ma, Mancheong; Powell, Daniel A; Weyand, Nathan J et al. (2018) A Natural Mouse Model for Neisseria Colonization. Infect Immun 86: |
