Abstract

Mycobacterium leprae, etiologic agent of leprosy, is propagated in athymic nude mouse footpads (FPs). The current purification protocol is tedious and physically demanding. A simpler, semi-automated protocol was developed using gentleMACS™ Octo Dissociator. The gentleMACS protocol provided a very effective means for purification of highly viable M. leprae from tissue.

Highlights

  • Mycobacterium leprae, etiologic agent of leprosy, is propagated in athymic nude mouse footpads (FPs)

  • The preferred system for cultivation of highly viable M. leprae for research purposes is the athymic nude mouse footpad (FP) model consisting of injecting M. leprae into each of the hind FP of nude mice and purification of bacteria from FP tissues 5–7 months postinfection (Truman and Krahenbuhl, 2001)

  • The hand-held homogenization protocol produced ~ 2-fold more M. leprae than the gentleMACS protocol according to acid-fast stain counts (p-value = 0.03) (Truman and Gillis, 2000) (Table 1)

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Mycobacterium leprae, etiologic agent of leprosy, is propagated in athymic nude mouse footpads (FPs). The preferred system for cultivation of highly viable M. leprae for research purposes is the athymic nude mouse footpad (FP) model consisting of injecting M. leprae into each of the hind FP of nude mice and purification of bacteria from FP tissues 5–7 months postinfection (Truman and Krahenbuhl, 2001). The current protocol for purification of highly viable bacteria from this model requires extensive mincing of the tissue with scissors, the production of a tissue homogenate using a hand-held glass tissue grinder and differential centrifugation (Truman and Krahenbuhl, 2001).

Objectives
Results
Conclusion

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.