An immunologic model in laboratory animals for the study of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Abstract

The controlled in vivo testing of gonococcal antigens, which in the past has been limited by the absence of a suitable model in laboratory animals, is important to the development of an effective immunizing agent for gonorrhea. Experimental infections with Neisseria gonorrhoeae have been recently reported, however, in four species of laboratory animals: rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and mice. When the infection in each of these species was considered and the potential use of the species as a laboratory model was evaluated, the guinea pig was found to be the most satisfactory species for study of the immune mechanism of gonococcal infections. Both active and serum-mediated passive immunity were demonstrated in the guinea pig model. Research on gonorrhea, currently the most frequently reported infectious disease in the United States, has been handicapped by lack of a suitable model in laboratory animals. The first confirmed animal infections with Neisseria gonorrhoeae were reported by Miller [1], who succeeded in isolating a strain of gonococcus that was lethal for mice when injected ip. This isolate proved difficult to maintain, since it required frequent blind passages in mice to remain virulent. Miller also reported the ocular infection of rabbits by the direct inoculation of gonococci into the anterior chamber [1], but because of the discomfort to the animal and