Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 23, 2026

A Method for Generating Pulmonary Neutrophilia Using Aerosolized Lipopolysaccharide
08:33

A Method for Generating Pulmonary Neutrophilia Using Aerosolized Lipopolysaccharide

Published on: December 15, 2014

12.1K

Standardized Method for Aerosol Challenge of Rodents with Yersinia pestis for Modeling Primary Pneumonic Plague

Paul E Anderson1,2, Rachel M Olson1,2, Joshua L Willix1,2

  • 1Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|June 10, 2019
PubMed

Insights

A new standardized aerosol challenge method provides a reproducible model for studying pneumonic plague (caused by Yersinia pestis) in rodents. This approach ensures uniform infection for reliable antibiotic testing and new treatment development.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Animal Models

Background:

  • Primary pneumonic plague results from inhaled Yersinia pestis, leading to rapid bacterial growth and damaging inflammation.
  • Current rodent models using intranasal instillation of Yersinia pestis suffer from variability and anesthesia side effects, complicating data interpretation.
  • Well-controlled aerosol challenge models are crucial for accurate efficacy data in antibiotic testing and new treatment licensing for pneumonic plague.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present a standardized, reproducible method for aerosol delivery of Yersinia pestis to rodents for experimental models of primary pneumonic plague.
  • To establish a reliable method for studying pneumonic plague that minimizes experimental bias and unwanted side effects.
  • To facilitate the development and licensing of new treatments for pneumonic plague through improved animal modeling.

Main Methods:

  • Development and characterization of a standardized nose-only aerosol challenge system for Yersinia pestis in mice and rats.
  • Utilizing gentle restraint without anesthesia to challenge large cohorts of animals simultaneously.
  • Ensuring uniform, well-controlled, and unbiased infection through precise aerosol delivery of wild-type Yersinia pestis.

Main Results:

  • The described aerosol challenge method allows for simultaneous infection of large animal cohorts.
  • The method ensures safe, well-controlled, unbiased, and uniform Yersinia pestis infection in rodents.
  • This approach provides reproducible data crucial for evaluating antibiotic efficacy and developing new pneumonic plague treatments.

Conclusions:

  • A standardized aerosol challenge method offers a reliable and reproducible model for primary pneumonic plague in rodents.
  • This improved model is essential for generating accurate efficacy data for antibiotic testing and new therapeutic development.
  • The method supports the accurate modeling of Yersinia pestis transmission and early-stage pneumonic plague in humans.
Keywords:
AerosolAnimal modelPneumonic plagueYersinia pestis

More Related Videos

Whole-Body Nanoparticle Aerosol Inhalation Exposures10:11

Whole-Body Nanoparticle Aerosol Inhalation Exposures

Published on: May 7, 2013

16.3K
A System to Create Stable Nanoparticle Aerosols from Nanopowders12:59

A System to Create Stable Nanoparticle Aerosols from Nanopowders

Published on: July 26, 2016

9.9K

Related Concept Videos

Empirical Method to Interpret Standard Deviation01:09

Empirical Method to Interpret Standard Deviation

The empirical rule, also known as the three-sigma rule, allows a statistician to interpret the standard deviation in a normally distributed dataset. The rule states that 68% of the data lies within one standard deviation from the mean, 95% lies within two standard deviations from the mean, and 99.7% lies within three standard deviations from the mean. Additionally, this rule is also called the 68-95-99.7 rule.
This rule is used widely in statistics to calculate the proportion of data values...
9.4K
Calculating Standard Free Energy Changes02:49

Calculating Standard Free Energy Changes

The free energy change for a reaction that occurs under the standard conditions of 1 bar pressure and at 298 K is called the standard free energy change. Since free energy is a state function, its value depends only on the conditions of the initial and final states of the system. A convenient and common approach to the calculation of free energy changes for physical and chemical reactions is by use of widely available compilations of standard state thermodynamic data. One method involves the...
24.7K
Standard Enthalpy of Formation02:37

Standard Enthalpy of Formation

Enthalpy changes are typically tabulated for reactions in which both the reactants and products are at the same conditions. A standard state is a commonly accepted set of conditions used as a reference point for the determination of properties under other different conditions. For chemists, the IUPAC standard state refers to materials under a pressure of 1 bar and solutions at 1 M and does not specify a temperature. Many thermochemical tables list values with a standard state of 1 atm. Because...
49.0K
Standard Electrode Potentials03:02

Standard Electrode Potentials

On comparing the reactivity of silver and lead, it is observed that the two ionic species, Ag+ (aq) and Pb2+ (aq), show a difference in their redox reactivity towards copper: the silver ion undergoes spontaneous reduction, while the lead ion does not. This relative redox activity can be easily quantified in electrochemical cells by a property called cell potential. This property is commonly known as cell voltage in electrochemistry, and it is a measure of the energy which accompanies the charge...
50.0K
Measurement: Standard Units03:38

Measurement: Standard Units

Every measurement provides three kinds of information: the size or magnitude of the measurement (a number), a standard of comparison for the measurement (a unit), and an indication of the uncertainty of the measurement. While the number and unit are explicitly represented when a quantity is written, the uncertainty is an aspect of the errors in the measurement results.
78.7K
Standard Solutions01:14

Standard Solutions

Standard solutions refer to solutions with a precisely known concentration or composition. A primary standard is a highly pure, high molar mass, stable substance that is entirely soluble in water, the most commonly used solvent in analytical chemistry. The primary standard solution can be used to standardize secondary standards, which are substances with known concentrations but are less pure and stable. Standard solutions are essential for achieving accurate and reliable results in analytical...
2.4K