Exploiting the potential of insects for in vivo pathogenicity testing of microbial pathogens

• Published in: FEMS microbiology reviews Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 101 - 112
• Main Authors: Kavanagh, Kevin, Reeves, Emer P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Elsevier B.V 01.02.2004; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Blackwell; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteria - pathogenicity; Bacteriological Techniques; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Butterflies & moths; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Galleria mellonella; Humoral immunity; Immune response; Immune system; Immune System - physiology; In vivo methods and tests; In vivo pathogenicity testing; Innate immune response; Innate immunity; Insect; Insecta - immunology; Insecta - microbiology; Insects; Larvae; Microbiology; Microorganisms; Mutants; Mycology; Pathogenicity; Pathogenicity, host-agent relations, miscellaneous strains, epidemiology; Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains; Pathogens; Vertebrates; Virulence; Workers (insect caste); In vivo pathogenicity testing; Innate immune response; Insect; Humoral immunity; Encapsulation; Immune response; Insecta; Hemolymph; Cuticle; Galleria mellonella; Fungi; Pathogenicity; Inoculation; Pyralidae; Arthropoda; Lepidoptera; Bacteria; Invertebrata; Phagocytosis; Thallophyta
• ISSN: 0168-6445; 1574-6976; 1574-6976
• DOI: 10.1016/j.femsre.2003.09.002

Conventional assays for quantifying the virulence of microbial pathogens and mutants have traditionally relied upon the use of a range of mammalian species. A number of workers have demonstrated that insects can be used for evaluating microbial pathogenicity and provide results comparable to those that can be obtained with mammals since one component of the vertebrate immune system, the innate immune response, remains similar to that found in insects. Larvae of the Greater Wax Moth Galleria mellonella have been used to evaluate the virulence of a range of bacterial and fungal pathogens and a correlation with the virulence of these microbes in mice has been established. This review highlights the similarities of the vertebrate and insect innate immune responses to infection and identifies the potential use of insects for the in vivo evaluation of the microbial pathogenicity.