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. 2021 Jun 24:8:659244.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.659244. eCollection 2021.

Comparison of the Glaesserella parasuis Virulence in Mice and Piglets

Baichuan Qi  1 , Feiyue Li  1 , Kunpeng Chen  1 , Wenwen Ding  1 , Yun Xue  1 , Yang Wang  1   2 , Hongwei Wang  1   2 , Ke Ding  2 , Zhanqin Zhao  1   2
Affiliations

Comparison of the Glaesserella parasuis Virulence in Mice and Piglets

Baichuan Qi et al. Front Vet Sci. .

Abstract

In this study, we compared the virulence of the most common serovars of Glaesserella parasuis in China, serovars 4, 5, 12, and 13 (36 strains in total) in BALB/c mice and piglets. In mice, the median lethal doses (LD50s) of the four serovars were roughly 9.80 × 107-4.60 × 109 CFU, 2.10 × 108-8.85 × 109 CFU, 4.81 × 107-7.01 × 109 CFU, and 1.75 × 108-8.45 × 108 CFU, respectively. Serovar 13 showed the strongest virulence, followed by serovar 4, serovar 12, and serovar 5, but a significant difference in virulence was only observed between serovars 5 and 13. The virulence of strains of the same serovars differed significantly in piglets. Virulent and attenuated strains were present in all serovars, but serovar 5 was the most virulent in piglets, followed by serovars 13, 4, and 12. A significant difference in virulence was observed between serovars 5 and 4 and between serovars 5 and 12. However, the virulence of serovars 5 and 13 did not differ significantly. This comprehensive analysis of G. parasuis virulence in mice and piglets demonstrated that: (1) the order of virulence of the four domestic epidemic serovars (from strongest to weakest) in piglets was serovars 5, 13, 4, and 12; (2) both virulent and attenuated strains were present in all serovars, so virulence did not necessarily correlate with serovar; (3) Although G. parasuis was fatal in BALB/c mice, its virulence is inconsistent with that in piglets, indicating that BALB/c mice are inadequate as an alternative model of G. parasuis infection.

Keywords: Glaesserella parasuis; correlation; mouse; piglet; serovar; virulence.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparative results of mouse virulence tests for the strains of each serovar. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01, compared with G. parasuis serovar 5.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Symptoms of piglets infected with G. parasuis. (A,C,E) control group; (B) pleural effusion; (D) pericardial thickening, typical “fluff heart”; (F) pulmonary congestion, bleeding, necrosis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Symptoms of piglets infected with G. parasuis. (A,C,E) control group; (B) peritoneal fibrous exudate, intestinal wall congestion, adhesions; (D) spleen edge infarction, covered with fibrous pseudomembrane; (F) joints effusion.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of the comprehensive virulence of serovars 4, 12, and 13 with that of serovar 5 in piglets. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01, compared with G. parasuis serovars 5.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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