AI Article Synopsis
- A new strain of the microsporidian parasite Encephalitozoon cuniculi was discovered in a free-ranging rat in Zurich, identified as strain II based on genetic analysis.
- This strain shows slight variations from other known strain II isolates from laboratory mice and blue foxes, as revealed by Western blot analysis.
- The new isolate successfully caused infections in other rats, indicating its potential usefulness for researching E. cuniculi infections and their effects in rat models.
Article Abstract
The microsporidian species Encephalitozoon cuniculi can infect a wide variety of mammals including man. It is a common parasite in rabbits and several sporadic infections in laboratory rats have been described. Based on molecular data three E. cuniculi strains have been identified. Here we describe the first in vitro propagation of E. cuniculi, which was isolated from a free-ranging rat (Rattus norvegicus). The rat was one of three seropositive animals among 23 rats captured in the city of Zurich. The new isolate was further characterised as strain II ("mouse"-strain) based on the rDNA internal transcribed spacer sequence. Western blot analysis of this isolate revealed slight differences to other available strain II isolates originating from laboratory mice and farmed blue foxes. The new isolate caused disseminated infection in liver and lung upon oral inoculation of Brown Norway (BN) rats and was transmitted to sentinel rats. This rat-adapted isolate will be valuable to study the pathogenesis of Encephalitozoon infections in the rat model.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0304-4017(02)00163-2 | DOI Listing |
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