{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,1]],"date-time":"2026-02-01T06:01:41Z","timestamp":1769925701658,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,28]],"date-time":"2024-05-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1716854400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitization, CCCDI-UEFISCDI","award":["ERANET-EURONANOMED-3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ERANET-EURONANOMED-3"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Neisseria\u00a0meningitidis (meningococcus) is a Gram-negative bacterium that colonises the nasopharynx of about 10% of the healthy human population. Under certain conditions, it spreads into the body, causing infections with high morbidity and mortality rates. Although the capsule is the key virulence factor, unencapsulated strains have proved to possess significant clinical implications as well. Meningococcal meningitis is a primarily human infection, with limited animal models that are dependent on a variety of parameters such as bacterial virulence and mouse strain. In this study, we aimed to develop a murine Neisseria meningitidis meningitis model to be used in the study of various antimicrobial compounds. Method: We used a capsule-deficient Neisseria meningitidis strain that was thoroughly analysed through various methods. The bacterial strain was incubated for 48 h in brain\u2013heart infusion (BHI) broth before being concentrated and injected intracisternally to bypass the blood\u2013brain barrier in CD-1 mice. This prolonged incubation time was a key factor in increasing the virulence of the bacterial strain. A total of three more differently prepared inoculums were tested to further solidify the importance of the protocol (a 24-h incubated inoculum, a diluted inoculum, and an inactivated inoculum). Antibiotic treatment groups were also established. The clinical parameters and number of deaths were recorded over a period of 5 days, and comatose mice with no chance of recovery were euthanised. Results: The bacterial strain was confirmed to have no capsule but was found to harbour a total of 56 genes coding virulence factors, and its antibiotic susceptibility was established. Meningitis was confirmed through positive tissue culture and histological evaluation, where specific lesions were observed, such as perivascular sheaths with inflammatory infiltrate. In the treatment groups, survival rates were significantly higher (up to 81.25% in one of the treatment groups compared to 18.75% in the control group). Conclusion: We managed to successfully develop a cost-efficient murine (using simple CD-1 mice instead of expensive transgenic mice) meningococcal meningitis model using an unencapsulated strain with a novel method of preparation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics14111116","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,28]],"date-time":"2024-05-28T05:19:49Z","timestamp":1716873589000},"page":"1116","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Developing a Novel Murine Meningococcal Meningitis Model Using a Capsule-Null Bacterial Strain"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Viorela-I.","family":"Caracoti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Microbiology Discipline II, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3867-9122","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Costin-\u0218.","family":"Caracoti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Microbiology Discipline II, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Cantacuzino National Military Medical Institute for Research and Development, Preclinical Testing Unit, 050096 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Diana L.","family":"Ancu\u021ba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cantacuzino National Military Medical Institute for Research and Development, Preclinical Testing Unit, 050096 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 050097 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fabiola","family":"Ioni\u021b\u0103","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cantacuzino National Military Medical Institute for Research and Development, Preclinical Testing Unit, 050096 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 050097 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4124-2909","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrei-A.","family":"Muntean","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Microbiology Discipline II, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Cantacuzino National Military Medical Institute for Research and Development, Preclinical Testing Unit, 050096 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mangesh","family":"Bhide","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Kosice, Komenskeho 73, 04181 Kosice, Slovakia"},{"name":"Institute of Neuroimmunology of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 84510 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8285-7176","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriela L.","family":"Popa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Microbiology Discipline II, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0794-9329","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mircea I.","family":"Popa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Microbiology Discipline II, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Cantacuzino National Military Medical Institute for Research and Development, Preclinical Testing Unit, 050096 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6037-183X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristin","family":"Coman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cantacuzino National Military Medical Institute for Research and Development, Preclinical Testing Unit, 050096 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 050097 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Fundeni Clinical Institute Translational Medicine Centre of Excellence, 022328 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2024, March 10). 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