Mycoplasma arthritidis-induced ocular inflammatory disease

Abstract

Mycoplasma arthritidis was demonstrated to incite experimental conjunctivitis and uveitis in Swiss Webster mice which have a known susceptibility to the arthritis customarily associated with infection by this mycoplasma. The initial symptom of ocular involvement was conjunctivitis, which appeared as early as 1 day after intravenous injection with viable culture concentrates of M. arthritidis. By day 2, histological analysis showed intraocular localized inflammatory reactions that were confined primarily to the anterior portion of the uvea and produced results which were compatible with those seen in iridocyclitis. Serological assays of the titer and the class of antibodies involved in the early humoral immune response to infection confirmed the predominance of immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations over IgM concentrations that was described by others (Cole et al., Infect. Immun. 4:431-440, 1971) and revealed significant titers of the IgG2a and IgG2b subclasses of complement-fixing antibodies. The rapid onset of acute conjunctivitis, together with the early appearance of immunoglobulins of the IgG class, suggests that the M. arthritidis-infected Swiss Webster mice may have experienced an anamnestic response to the mycoplasma antigens. These observations introduce a new animal model for the study of mycoplasma-induced experimental uveitis and conjunctivitis, which are demonstrated here to accompany a disseminated systemic disease process.

Toxicity but not arthritogenicity of Mycoplasma arthritidis for mice associates with the haplotype expressed at the major histocompatibility complex

“…We have confirmed previous work (6,17,18) which indicated that M. arthritidis is toxic for w A 0 mice after systemic administration. In addition, the present studies have shown pronounced differences in the susceptibility of different CS t > mouse strains to the toxic syndrome.…”

“…injection of organisms, fibroplasia and collagen synthesis induced by local lymphokine release (12,16,19) are more likely explanations. Although eye cultures were not performed in our studies, Thirkill and Gregerson (17) reported that only 2 of 20 involved eyes yielded mycoplasmas by culture, suggesting that ocular involvement was not dependent on a direct infectious process. Preliminary attempts to protect responsive (C3H) mice against the toxic effects of M. arthritidis by immunizing them with mitogen-containing supernatants of M. arthritidis failed (unpublished data).…”

Application of monoclonal antibodies to detect intraocular mycoplasma antigens in Mycoplasma arthritidis-infected Sprague-Dawley rats

“…Mycoplasma-induced anterior uveitis. Two liters of PPLO broth (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Mich.) supplemented with 10% horse serum-5% fresh yeast extract and containing 100 U of penicillin G per ml was inoculated with 10 ml of a 48-h culture of M. arthritidis strain 158 PloP9 (15) and then incubated aerobically at 37°C for 3 days. Centrifugation at 10,000 x g at 4°C for 30 min produced a pellet which was washed twice in sterile phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) before being suspended to a total of 2 ml and assayed for viable, colony-forming units.…”

“…Purification of arginine deiminase. A 6-liter volume of M. arthritidis was cultured and harvested as described previously (15). The pellet was suspended to a total of 2 ml in PBS, pH 7.5, sonicated in ice to produce a homogenate, and centrifuged at 10,000 x g for 30 min.…”

Bacterial species to be considered in quality assurance of mice and rats

“…39 Mycoplasma pulmonis and M. arthritidis may cause respiratory, eye and joint-related conditions and may affect reproduction, at least if enhanced by other factors. 21,[40][41][42][43][44][45] However, even in the absence of clinical symptoms, it may have impact on certain models. [46][47][48][49][50] Filobacterium rodentium (formerly known as cilia-associated respiratory (CAR) bacillus 51 ), while usually asymptomatic, 52 is the cause of chronic respiratory disease in rats, 53,54 and BALB/c mice.…”