Torticollis in Mice Intravenously Infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis

摘要

Female BALB/cAnNCrl (n=170; age, 6 to 9 wk) mice were infected by intravenous inoculation of 5 x 10(6) cfu Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain Erdman (ATCC 35801). Between day 52 and 5 mo after infection, 10 of the 170 mice infected according to this protocol developed torticollis, including mice in treatment groups that received combination antibiotic therapy of rifampin pyrazinamide or moxifloxacin rifampin pyrazinamide. Torticollis did not develop in mice receiving isoniazid rifampin pyrazinamide therapy, nor was it present in the cohort of aerogenically infected mice. Affected mice were euthanized, and complete necropsy evaluation was performed on 4 mice. Gross necropsy evaluation revealed typical tuberculosis lesions in lungs of infected mice. Histologic evaluation of tissues revealed granulomatous otitis media with intralesional acid-fast bacilli consistent with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These cases represent an unusual finding specific to the intravenous mouse model of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and may represent a model of a similar condition in humans that is known as tuberculous otitis media.