Galleria mellonella as an infection model for the virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv
Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), is a leading cause of infectious disease mortality. Animal infection models have contributed substantially to our understanding of TB, yet their biological and non-biological limitations are a research bottleneck. There is a need for mor...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Virulence |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21505594.2022.2119657 |
| _version_ | 1798003097939738624 |
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| author | Masanori Asai Yanwen Li John Spiropoulos William Cooley David J. Everest Sharon L. Kendall Carlos Martín Brian D. Robertson Paul R. Langford Sandra M. Newton |
| author_facet | Masanori Asai Yanwen Li John Spiropoulos William Cooley David J. Everest Sharon L. Kendall Carlos Martín Brian D. Robertson Paul R. Langford Sandra M. Newton |
| author_sort | Masanori Asai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), is a leading cause of infectious disease mortality. Animal infection models have contributed substantially to our understanding of TB, yet their biological and non-biological limitations are a research bottleneck. There is a need for more ethically acceptable, economical, and reproducible TB infection models capable of mimicking key aspects of disease. Here, we demonstrate and present a basic description of how Galleria mellonella (the greater wax moth, Gm) larvae can be used as a low cost, rapid, and ethically more acceptable model for TB research. This is the first study to infect Gm with the fully virulent MTB H37Rv, the most widely used strain in research. Infection of Gm with MTB resulted in a symptomatic lethal infection, the virulence of which differed from both attenuated Mycobacterium bovis BCG and auxotrophic MTB strains. The Gm-MTB model can also be used for anti-TB drug screening, although CFU enumeration from Gm is necessary for confirmation of mycobacterial load reducing activity of the tested compound. Furthermore, comparative virulence of MTB isogenic mutants can be determined in Gm. However, comparison of mutant phenotypes in Gm against conventional models must consider the limitations of innate immunity. Our findings indicate that Gm will be a practical, valuable, and advantageous additional model to be used alongside existing models to advance tuberculosis research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:02:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1acc6fc7085849aaab8ffc83c650b9c2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2150-5594 2150-5608 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:02:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Virulence |
| spelling | doaj.art-1acc6fc7085849aaab8ffc83c650b9c22022-12-22T04:24:48ZengTaylor & Francis GroupVirulence2150-55942150-56082022-12-011311543155710.1080/21505594.2022.2119657Galleria mellonella as an infection model for the virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37RvMasanori Asai0Yanwen Li1John Spiropoulos2William Cooley3David J. Everest4Sharon L. Kendall5Carlos Martín6Brian D. Robertson7Paul R. Langford8Sandra M. Newton9Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UKSection of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UKDepartment of Pathology, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Addlestone, UKDepartment of Pathology, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Addlestone, UKDepartment of Pathology, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Addlestone, UKCentre for Emerging, Endemic and Exotic Diseases, Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hartfield, UKDepartment of Microbiology, Facultad de Medicina Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, SpainMRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UKSection of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UKSection of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, UKTuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), is a leading cause of infectious disease mortality. Animal infection models have contributed substantially to our understanding of TB, yet their biological and non-biological limitations are a research bottleneck. There is a need for more ethically acceptable, economical, and reproducible TB infection models capable of mimicking key aspects of disease. Here, we demonstrate and present a basic description of how Galleria mellonella (the greater wax moth, Gm) larvae can be used as a low cost, rapid, and ethically more acceptable model for TB research. This is the first study to infect Gm with the fully virulent MTB H37Rv, the most widely used strain in research. Infection of Gm with MTB resulted in a symptomatic lethal infection, the virulence of which differed from both attenuated Mycobacterium bovis BCG and auxotrophic MTB strains. The Gm-MTB model can also be used for anti-TB drug screening, although CFU enumeration from Gm is necessary for confirmation of mycobacterial load reducing activity of the tested compound. Furthermore, comparative virulence of MTB isogenic mutants can be determined in Gm. However, comparison of mutant phenotypes in Gm against conventional models must consider the limitations of innate immunity. Our findings indicate that Gm will be a practical, valuable, and advantageous additional model to be used alongside existing models to advance tuberculosis research.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21505594.2022.2119657TuberculosisMycobacterium tuberculosisGalleria mellonellainfection modelinnate immunitymycobacteria |
| spellingShingle | Masanori Asai Yanwen Li John Spiropoulos William Cooley David J. Everest Sharon L. Kendall Carlos Martín Brian D. Robertson Paul R. Langford Sandra M. Newton Galleria mellonella as an infection model for the virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv Virulence Tuberculosis Mycobacterium tuberculosis Galleria mellonella infection model innate immunity mycobacteria |
| title | Galleria mellonella as an infection model for the virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv |
| title_full | Galleria mellonella as an infection model for the virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv |
| title_fullStr | Galleria mellonella as an infection model for the virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv |
| title_full_unstemmed | Galleria mellonella as an infection model for the virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv |
| title_short | Galleria mellonella as an infection model for the virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv |
| title_sort | galleria mellonella as an infection model for the virulent mycobacterium tuberculosis h37rv |
| topic | Tuberculosis Mycobacterium tuberculosis Galleria mellonella infection model innate immunity mycobacteria |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21505594.2022.2119657 |
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