Altered clinical and histological features of male MM mouse pyelonephritis associated with a change in its microbiology.

Radical changes in the clinical, microbiological and histological features of spontaneous pyelonephritis in MM male mice occurred when they were transferred to a new environment after Caesarean derivation. Although the incidence of pyelonephritis remained the same, the survival age was increased. The renal histology indicated a shift to a more chronic form of pyelonephritis with renal amyloidosis as a common feature. At autopsy much more renal scarring was seen, resulting in the 'shrunken' kidney typical of chronic pyelonephritis. Renal lymphocytic accumulations were commonly found in MM mice, but they were also seen frequently in C57BL mice and in germfree stocks of both strains: no association was found between these lesions and pyelonephritis.