Internal Medicine Section, Department of Veterinary Pathology, Diagnostic and Veterinary Clinic, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
Mycopathologia. 2013 Feb;175(1-2):1-11. doi: 10.1007/s11046-012-9589-9. Epub 2012 Oct 7.
The animal models available for studying the immune response to genital tract infection require induction of a pseudo estrous state, usually achieved by administration of 17-β-estradiol. In our experimental model of vaginal candidiasis, under pseudo estrus, different strains of mice were used. We observed major differences in the clearance of Candida albicans infection among the different strains, ascribable to differing susceptibility to estradiol treatment. In the early phase of infection CD1, BALB/c, C57BL/6 albino and C57BL/6 mice were colonized to similar levels, while in the late phase of infection, BALB/c mice, which are considered genetically resistant to C. albicans infection, exhibited greater susceptibility to vaginal candidiasis than CD1 and C57BL/6 albino strains of mice. This was because estradiol induced "per se" enlarged and fluid-filled uteri, more pronounced in infected mice and consistently more evident in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice than in CD1 mice. Unlike CD1, BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice showed a heavy fungal colonization of the uterus, even though C57BL/6 mice apparently cleared C. albicans from the vagina. The presence of C. albicans in the vagina and uterus was accompanied by a heavy bacterial load. Collectively these observations prompted us to carry out a careful analysis of estradiol effects in a mouse model of vaginal infection.
用于研究生殖道感染免疫反应的动物模型需要诱导假发情状态，通常通过给予 17-β-雌二醇来实现。在我们的阴道念珠菌病实验模型中，在假性发情时，使用了不同品系的小鼠。我们观察到不同品系清除白色念珠菌感染的能力存在显著差异，这归因于对雌二醇处理的不同敏感性。在感染的早期阶段，CD1、BALB/c、C57BL/6 白化和 C57BL/6 小鼠被定植到相似的水平，而在感染的晚期阶段，被认为对白色念珠菌感染具有遗传抗性的 BALB/c 小鼠比 CD1 和 C57BL/6 白化小鼠更容易感染阴道念珠菌病。这是因为雌二醇“本身”诱导扩大和充满液体的子宫，在感染的小鼠中更为明显，并且在 BALB/c 和 C57BL/6 小鼠中比在 CD1 小鼠中更为明显。与 CD1 不同，BALB/c 和 C57BL/6 小鼠的子宫有大量真菌定植，尽管 C57BL/6 小鼠显然从阴道清除了白色念珠菌。阴道和子宫中白色念珠菌的存在伴随着大量细菌负荷。这些观察结果促使我们在阴道感染的小鼠模型中仔细分析雌二醇的作用。
