Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. 2014; 16(3):229-237
To develop and characterize experimental model of chlamydial arthritis in rats.
Wistar male rats received an intra-articular injection of 0.15–0.20 ml of purified elementary bodies of Chlamydophila (Chlamydia) trachomatis L2/Bu-434 or Chlamydophila (Chlamydia) muridarum Nigg. Animals were divided into two groups: young rats (body weight: 350-380 g) and adult rats (body weight: 450–500 g).
No changes in the affected joints were observed in rats infected with C. muridarum Nigg. In contrast, rats infected with C. trachomatis L2/Bu-434 exhibited pain syndrome on the next day after exposure. Infected rats had functional, morphological, and histological changes corresponding to arthritis. Young rats responded to the infection with lesser edema and recovered more rapidly. Adult rats had severe inflammatory response with more significant joint enlargement and slower recovery than young rats. The pathogen was shown to grow in synovial tissue cells, and peak accumulation corresponds to clinical presentation.
This model can be successfully used for evaluating efficacy of known antimicrobial agents in the treatment of chlamydial infection with joint involvement. This model may be useful for a search of new antichlamydial drugs.