Pathological features of experimental gonococcal infection in mice and guinea pigs

The histopathological and immunofluorescent findings in tissues within and surrounding artificially created subcutaneous tissue cavities infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae for 1 to 30 days were studied in mice and guinea pigs. Findings in the tissue cavities of the animal models were similar to the findings of disseminated gonococcal infection in humans. These similarities included an intense persistent polymorphonuclear leukocytic response with tissue necrosis, hemorrhage into the early lesion, a perivascular leukocytic response in adjacent tissue, difficulty in detecting large numbers of discrete morphologically typical gonococci by the tissue Gram stain and direct fluorescent antibody techniques, a decrease in the number of identifiable gonococci with duration of the infection, and moderate amounts of extracellular and intracellular immunofluorescent gonococcal debris. Studies into the pathogenesis of the animal infections may enhance our understanding of the pathogenic mechanism (s) associated with gonococcal infection in humans.