Do human isolates of Bartonella tamiae induce pathology in experimentally inoculated immunocompetent mice?
The three isolates of B. tamiae evaluated in this study induce disease in immunocompetent Swiss Webster mice up to 6 weeks after inoculation. The human patients from whom these isolates were obtained had clinical presentations consistent with the multi-organ pathology observed in mice in this study. This mouse model for B. tamiae induced disease not only strengthens the causal link between this pathogen and clinical illness in humans, but provides a model to further study the pathological processes induced by these bacteria.
After a methacholine test, the reversibility of an inhaled beta 2 agent is not significantly different from a placebo and is less satisfactory than in a situation of spontaneous airway obstruction. The mechanism for this needs to be explored but it is not secondary to persisting airway obstruction.