Moving towards an improved experimental model for reproduction of pneumonia induced by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae
The 25th of April, Beatriz Garcia Morante will defend the PhD thesis entitled “Moving towards an improved experimental model for reproduction of pneumonia induced by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae” led by researchers Dr. Marina Sibila and Dr. Joaquim Segalés of IRTA-CreSA center. This thesis is the result of the work done during three years under an Industrial Doctorate scholarship. The close collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim has been absolutely fundamental and enriching for the PhD student, since it has offered another scientific perspective and made possible several trips to one of the company’s veterinary research centers, in Hannover (Germany).
Experimental team at the farm.
The infection with M. hyopneumoniae is widespread in almost all pig producing countries. Despite its importance, there are still relevant points to be resolved; some of them concern the complex pathogenesis of the infection as well as the resultant pneumonia outcome. For instance, M. hyopneumoniae experimental models are a good starting point for addressing some of these unresolved matters, although wide inconsistencies are seen in reproducibility, prevalence and severity of pneumonia. Among others, the latter is a major concern in the case of veterinary medicine product efficacy compliance, especially in vaccinology, where a significant reduction in the lung lesion score is required compared to non-vaccinated pigs. Thus, a validated M. hyopneumoniae experimental model enhancing severe pneumonia reproduction is of interest.
The present thesis was raised to provide insights into this matter through the identification and optimization of experimental conditions playing a role in pneumonia outcome. Furthermore, evaluation of ante-mortem parameters that would serve to foresee such outcome was also addressed. As a result, this thesis includes five studies, three of which have been published in indexed international journals and the other two are in the process of being publicated:
- PLoS One. 2017 Apr 5;12(4):e0175034. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175034. eCollection 2017. Potential use of local and systemic humoral immune response parameters to forecast Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae associated lung lesions. Garcia-Morante B, Segalés J, Fraile L, Llardén G, Coll T, Sibila M.
- Vet Res. 2016 May 9;47(1):54. doi: 10.1186/s13567-016-0340-2. Induction of mycoplasmal pneumonia in experimentally infected pigs by means of different inoculation routes. Garcia-Morante B, Segalés J, López-Soria S, de Rozas AP, Maiti H, Coll T, Sibila M.
- J Comp Pathol. 2016 Feb-Apr;154(2-3):125-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2015.11.003. Epub 2016 Jan 8. Assessment of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae-induced Pneumonia using Different Lung Lesion Scoring Systems: a Comparative Review. Garcia-Morante B, Segalés J, Fraile L, Pérez de Rozas A, Maiti H, Coll T, Sibila M.
This thesis has been funded by the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Doctorats Industrials, 2013 DI 039) and by Boehringer Ingelheim España S.A., División Veterinaria. The studies included in the thesis have also been co-funded by Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Research Center (BIVRC) GmbH & Co. KG. (Hannover, Germany).
