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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2008, p. 1886-1891, Vol. 74, No. 6
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02467-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Use of Drosophila S2 Cells as a Model for Studying Ehrlichia chaffeensis Infections{triangledown}

Alison Luce-Fedrow,1 Tonia Von Ohlen,1* Daniel Boyle,1 Roman R. Ganta,2 and Stephen K. Chapes1

Kansas State University, Division of Biology, Manhattan, Kansas 66506,1 Kansas State University, Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathology, Manhattan, Kansas 665062

Received 1 November 2007/ Accepted 20 January 2008

Ehrlichia chaffeensis is an obligate intracellular bacterium and the causative agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis. Although this pathogen grows in several mammalian cell lines, no general model for eukaryotic cellular requirements for bacteria replication has yet been proposed. We found that Drosophila S2 cells are permissive for the growth of E. chaffeensis. We saw morulae (aggregates of bacteria) by microscopy, detected the E. chaffeensis 16S rRNA gene by reverse transcriptase PCR, and used immunocytochemistry to detect E. chaffeensis in S2 and mammalian cells. Bacteria grown in S2 cells reinfected mammalian macrophages. S2 cells were made nonpermissive for E. chaffeensis through incubation with lipopolysaccharide. Our results demonstrate that S2 cells are an appropriate system for studying the pathogenesis of E. chaffeensis. The use of a Drosophila system has the potential to serve as a model system for studying Ehrlichia due to its completed genome, ease of genetic manipulation, and the availability of mutants.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Kansas State University, Division of Biology, Manhattan, KS 66506. Phone: (785) 532-6149. Fax: (785) 532-6653. E-mail: tonia{at}ksu.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 1 February 2008.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2008, p. 1886-1891, Vol. 74, No. 6
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02467-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Luce-Fedrow, A., Von Ohlen, T., Chapes, S. K. (2009). Ehrlichia chaffeensis Infections in Drosophila melanogaster. Infect. Immun. 77: 4815-4826 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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