Ausschuss für Hygiene

Host species:

• mouse, rat, (guinea pig, hamster)

Organotropism:

• respiratory tract (other organs)
• middle ear
• superficial tissue
• generalization

Clinical disease:

• inapparent in most strains of immunocompetent mice und rats
• abscesses of superficial tissue with microabscessation of various internal organs
• pneumonia in some strains of rats

Morbidity and mortality:

• up to 100% of animals are infected
• 5-60% of susceptible strains show clinical signs (Amao, 1993)
• no age or sex prevalence are known

Zoonotic potential:

• C.kutscheri was isolated from umbilical cord and other surface in an infant (Fitter, 1979)

Interference with research:

Infection with this agent is usually subclinical in rats and mice and results in disease expressions only after severe immunosuppression, by exposure to experimental regimes, dietary deficiencies, or concurrent infection with other agents.

Physiology

• Disease has been active in animals used in studies of dietary deficiency (Zucker, 1954), gamma irradiation (Schechmeister, 1953), cortisone administration (Takagaki, 1967), or by other infectious disease, for example infectious ectromelia (Lawrence, 1957)

Immunology

• components of C. kutscheri may stimulate type -1 helper T cells to produce IL-2 and IFN-gamma and the enhance cytokine production could contribute to the nonspecific resistance induced by this bacterium (Kita, 1992)

Oncology

• a T- cell mitogen of C. kutscheri induced a tumorlytic factor in mice ( Kita, 1995)

References:

Amao, H., T. Akimoto, K. W. Takahashi, M. Nakagawa and M. Saito. 1991. Isolation of Corynebacterium kutscheri from aged Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). Lab. Anim. Sci. 41:265-268.

Amao, H., Y. Komukai, M. Sugiyama, T. R. Saito, K. W. Takahashi and M. Saito. 1993. Difference in susceptibility of mice among vatious strains to oral infection with Corynebacterium kutscheri. Jikken Dobutsu 42:539-545.

Amao, H., T. Kanamoto, Y. Komukai, K. W. Takahashi, T. Sawada, M. Saito and M. Sugiyama. 1995. Pathogenicity of Corynebacterium kutscheri in the Syrian hamster. J. Vet. Med. Sci. 57:715-719.

Amao, H., Y. Komukai, M. Sugiyama, K. W. Takahashi, T. Sawada and M. Saito. 1995. Natural habitats of Corynebacterium kutscheri in subclinically infected ICGN and DBA/2 strains of mice. Lab Anim Sci. 45:6-10.

Amao, H., Y. Komukai, T. Akimoto, M. Sugiyama, K. W. Takahashi, T. Sawada and M. Saito. 1995. Natural and subclinical Corynebacterium kutscheri infection in rats. Lab. Anim. Sci. 45:11-14.

Antopol, W., H. Quittner and I. Saphira. 1959. "Spontaneous" infection after the administration of cortisone and ACTH. Am. J. Pathol. 29:599-600.

Barrow, P. A. 1981. Corynebacterium kutscheri infection in wild voles (Microtus agrestis). Br. Vet. J. 137:67-70.

Brownstein, D. G., S. W. Barthold, R. L. Adams, G. A. Terwilliger and J. G. Aftomis. 1985. Experimental Corynebacterium kutscheri infection in rats: bacteriology and serology. Lab. Anim. Sci. 35:135-138.

Fauve, R. M., C. H. Pierce-Chase and R. Dubois. 1964. Corynebaczetium pseudotuberculosis in mice. II. Active of natural and experimantal latent infections. J. Exp. Med. 120:283-304.

Fitter, W. F., D. J. de Sa and H. Richardson. 1979. Chorioamnionitis and funisisdis due to Corynebacterium kutscheri. Arch. Dis. Child. 54:710-712.

Fox, J. G., C. M. Beaucage and J. C. Murphy. 1979. Corynebacterium kutscheri pneumonia in rats on long term tobacco inhalation studies. Annual Session AALAS, abstract 104.

Fox, J. G., S. M. Niemi, J. Ackerman and J. C. Murphy. 1987. Comparison of methods to diagnose an epizootic of Corynebacterium kutscheri pneumonia in rats. Lab. Anim. Sci. 37:72-75.

Hirst, R. G. and R. J. Olds. 1978. Corynebacterium kutscheri and its alleged avirulent variant in mice. J. Hyg. (Lond.) 80:349-356.

Hirst, R. G. and M. E. Wallace. 1976. Inherited resistance to Corynebacterium kutscheri in mice. Infect. Immun. 14:475-482.

Kita, E., N. Matsui, M. Sawaki, K. Mikasa and N. Katsui. 1995. Murine tumorlytic factor, immunologically distinct from tumor necrosis factor alpha and -beta, induced in the serum of mice treated with a T-cell mitogen of Corynebacterium kutscheri. Immunol. Lett. 46:101-106.

Kita, E., N. Kamikaidou, D. Oku, A. Nakano, N. Katsui and S. Kashiba. 1992. Nonspecific stimulation of host defense by Corynebacterium kutscheri. III. Enhanced cytokine induction by the active moiety of C. kutscheri. Nat. Immun. 11:46-55.

Lawrence, J. J. 1957. Infection of laboratory mice with Corynebacterium murium. Aust. J. Sci. 20:147-150.

Miyamae, T. 1982. Corynebacterium kutscheri invasiveness of the gastrointestinal tract in young mice. Jikken Dobutsu 31:189-194.

Schechmeister, I. L. and F. L. Alder. 1953. Activation of pseudotuberculosis in mice exposed to sublethal total body radiation. J. Inf. Dis. 92:228-239.

Suzuki, E., K. Mochida and M. Nakagawa. 1988. Naturally occurring subclinical Corynebacterium kutscheri infection in laboratory rats: strain and age related antibody response. Lab. Anim. Sci. 38:42-45.

Takagaki, Y. M., M. Naiki and M. Ito. 1967. Checking of infections due to Corynebacterium and Tyzzer' s organism among mouse breeding colonies by cortisone-injection. Exp. Anim. 16:12-19.

Weisbroth, S. H. and S. Scher. 1968. Corynebacterium kutscheri infection in the mouse. I. Report of an outbreak, bacteriology, and pathology of spontaneous infections. Lab. Anim. Care 18:451-458.

Weisbroth, S. H. and S. Scher. 1968. Corynebacterium kutscheri infection in the mouse. II. Diagnostic serology. Lab. Anim. Care 18:459-468.

Zucker, T. F. and L. M. Zucker. 1954. Pantothenic acid deficiency and loss of natural resistance to a bacterial infection in the rat. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 85:517-521.