Characterizing Salmonella Typhimurium-induced Septic Peritonitis in Mice

J Vis Exp. 2022 Jul 29:(185). doi: 10.3791/63695.

Abstract

Sepsis is a dysregulated host immune response to microbial invasion or tissue damage, leading to organ injury at a site distant from that of the infection or damage. Currently, the widely used mice models of sepsis include lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), and monobacterial infection model systems. This protocol describes a method to study the host responses during Salmonella Typhimurium infection-induced septic peritonitis in mice. S. Typhimurium, a Gram-negative intracellular pathogen, causes typhoid-like disease in mice. This protocol elaborates the culture preparation, induction of septic peritonitis in mice through intraperitoneal injection, and methods to study systemic host responses. Furthermore, the assessment of bacterial burden in different organs and the flow cytometric analysis of increased neutrophil numbers in the peritoneal lavage is presented. Salmonella Typhimurium-induced sepsis in mice leads to an increase in proinflammatory cytokines and rapid infiltration of neutrophils in the peritoneal cavity, leading to lower survival. Every step in this protocol has been optimized, resulting in high reproducibility of the pathogenesis of septic peritonitis. This model is useful for studying immunological responses during bacterial sepsis, the roles of different genes in disease progression, and the effects of drugs to attenuate sepsis.

Publication types

  • Video-Audio Media
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cecum / pathology
  • Cecum / surgery
  • Cytokines
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Neutrophils
  • Peritonitis* / microbiology
  • Peritonitis* / pathology
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Salmonella typhimurium
  • Sepsis* / microbiology

Substances

  • Cytokines