Pathology Division, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1425 Porter Street, Fort Detrick, MD 21702, USA.
Vet Pathol. 2010 Sep;47(5):819-30. doi: 10.1177/0300985810378112. Epub 2010 Jul 23.
Anthrax is a lethal disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. There are three principal forms of the disease in humans-cutaneous, gastrointestinal, and inhalational-depending on the route of exposure. Of these, inhalational anthrax is the most dangerous; it is rapidly fatal; and it has been used as a deadly biological warfare agent in the last decade. Suitable animal models of inhalational anthrax have been utilized to study pathogenesis of disease, investigate bacterial characteristics such as virulence, and test effectiveness of vaccines and therapeutics. To date, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, and nonhuman primates are the principal animal species used to study inhalational anthrax. Mice are valuable in studying early pathogenesis and bacterial characteristics. Few pathologic changes occur in the mouse models but may include marked bacteremia and lymphocyte destruction in the spleen and mediastinal lymph nodes. Rabbits and guinea pigs rapidly develop fulminate systemic disease, and pathologic findings often include necrotizing lymphadenitis; splenitis; pneumonia; vasculitis; and hemorrhage, congestion, and edema in multiple tissues. Nonhuman primates consistently develop the full range of classic lesions of human inhalational anthrax, including meningitis; lymphadenitis; splenitis; mediastinitis; pneumonia; vasculitis; and hemorrhage, congestion, and edema in multiple tissues. This review focuses on basic characteristics of the bacterium and its products, key aspects of pathogenesis, and the pathologic changes commonly observed in each animal model species.
炭疽是由炭疽杆菌引起的一种致命疾病。人类炭疽病有三种主要形式——皮肤性、胃肠性和吸入性，取决于暴露途径。在这些类型中，吸入性炭疽病最为危险；它迅速致命；并且在过去十年中已被用作致命的生物战剂。吸入性炭疽病的合适动物模型已被用于研究疾病的发病机制、研究细菌的特征，如毒性，并测试疫苗和疗法的有效性。迄今为止，小鼠、豚鼠、兔子和非人类灵长类动物是用于研究吸入性炭疽病的主要动物物种。在研究早期发病机制和细菌特征方面，小鼠具有重要价值。在小鼠模型中很少发生病理变化，但可能包括明显的菌血症和脾和纵隔淋巴结中的淋巴细胞破坏。兔子和豚鼠迅速发展为暴发性全身性疾病，病理发现通常包括坏死性淋巴结炎；脾炎；肺炎；血管炎；以及多个组织中的出血、充血和水肿。非人类灵长类动物始终会出现人类吸入性炭疽病的全部典型病变，包括脑膜炎；淋巴结炎；脾炎；纵隔炎；肺炎；血管炎；以及多个组织中的出血、充血和水肿。本文重点介绍了细菌及其产物的基本特征、发病机制的关键方面以及每种动物模型中常见的病理变化。
