Comparison of OmpA Gene-Targeted Real-Time PCR with the Conventional Culture Method for Detection of Acinetobacter baumanii in Pneumonic BALB/c Mice

Authors
Niloofar Hassannejad 1
Abbas Bahador 2
Nasim Hayati Rudbari 1
Mohammad Hossein Modarressi 3
Kazem Parivar 1
1 Dept. of Cell Biology, Science and Research branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Dept. of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Dept. of Medical Genetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
10.29252/ibj.23.2.159
Abstract
Background: Acinetobacter baumannii is an important pathogen in health care and is responsible for severe nosocomial and community-acquired pneumonia. To design novel therapeutic agents, a mouse model for A. baumannii pneumonia is essential. Methods: We described a mouse model of A. baumannii using clinical and 19606R standard strains for developing a quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) for rapid identification of A. baumannii infection from lung tissues of BALB/c mice. Results: To infect the mice, three doses of bacteria (0.5 × 108, 1 × 108, and 1.5 × 108 cfu/ml) were used. Lung tissues were cultured and compared with ompA gene. Clinical isolates had better positive results at day three with the highest dose than 19606 strain either in culture (4 versus 3) or in qRT-PCR (5 versus 4). However, qRT-PCR detection was 100%, the specificity was 70%, and the positive predictive value was 27%. Conclusion: The qRT-PCR detection of A. baumannii in the BALB/c mice model has a higher sensitivity than the culture method.
Keywords
Acinetobacter baumanii
OmpA
qRT-PCR Pneumonia
BALB/c Mice