Mouse intestine colonization ability of Campylobacter coli strains

Abstract

Campylobacter coli is an etiological agent of gastrointestinal and extraintestinal infections in man and animals, and can be found as a commensal in gastrointestinal tract of animals. In this study, we aimed to determine differences among C coli strains in colonization of the intestinal tract of mice. Seven C coli strains isolated from diarrheic patients, asymptomatic hosts and chicken carcasses were used for this study. Each strain was inoculated with 0.1 ml of a bacterial suspension (3 x 10(8) CFU/ml) to 5 weanling mice, intragastrically. For the isolation of C coli, faecal pellets collected before inoculation and after inoculation at particular intervals were cultured on Campylobacter Selective Agar. Seven C coli strains were divided into 3 colonization groups, based on faecal shedding. Group I showed immediate colonization, with prolonged excretion of organism in all mice. Group II showed delayed and short time colonization of C coli. Group III could not colonize mice. Division of isolates into colonization groups was as follows: Group I included 3 strains from gastrointestinal disease; Group II included 2 strains from asymptomatic hosts and Group III included 2 strains from chicken carcasses. The study showed that there were marked differences among C coli strains with respect to their colonization potential and it may depend upon the origin of the strain. For understanding the complete pathogenesis of Campylobacter spp., a greater number of strains from different sources and geographical locations require to be tested in further investigations in the light of our findings.