Journal article
Host cell-free growth of the Q fever bacterium Coxiella burnetii
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.106(11), pp.4430-4434
03/17/2009
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101990
PMCID: PMC2657411
PMID: 19246385
Abstract
The inability to propagate obligate intracellular pathogens under axenic (host cell-free) culture conditions imposes severe experimental constraints that have negatively impacted progress in understanding pathogen virulence and disease mechanisms.
Coxiella burnetii
, the causative agent of human Q (Query) fever, is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that replicates exclusively in an acidified, lysosome-like vacuole. To define conditions that support
C. burnetii
growth, we systematically evaluated the organism's metabolic requirements using expression microarrays, genomic reconstruction, and metabolite typing. This led to development of a complex nutrient medium that supported substantial growth (approximately 3 log
10
) of
C. burnetii
in a 2.5% oxygen environment. Importantly, axenically grown
C. burnetii
were highly infectious for Vero cells and exhibited developmental forms characteristic of in vivo grown organisms. Axenic cultivation of
C. burnetii
will facilitate studies of the organism's pathogenesis and genetics and aid development of Q fever preventatives such as an effective subunit vaccine. Furthermore, the systematic approach used here may be broadly applicable to development of axenic media that support growth of other medically important obligate intracellular pathogens.
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Details
- Title
- Host cell-free growth of the Q fever bacterium Coxiella burnetii
- Creators
- Anders Omsland - Coxiella Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Intracellular ParasitesDiane C Cockrell - Coxiella Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Intracellular ParasitesDale Howe - Coxiella Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Intracellular ParasitesElizabeth R Fischer - Electron Microscopy Unit, andKimmo Virtaneva - Genomics Unit, Research Technology Section, Research Technology Branch, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840Daniel E Sturdevant - Genomics Unit, Research Technology Section, Research Technology Branch, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840Stephen F Porcella - Genomics Unit, Research Technology Section, Research Technology Branch, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840Robert A Heinzen - Coxiella Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Intracellular Parasites
- Publication Details
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, Vol.106(11), pp.4430-4434
- Academic Unit
- Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Identifiers
- 99900546538701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article