Hyperoxia potentiates Ureaplasma urealyticum pneumonia in newborn mice

Abstract

The effect of continuous exposure to 80% oxygen on newborn mice with Ureaplasma urealyticum pneumonia was determined. Mice were inoculated intranasally with either U. urealyticum or sterile broth and then housed in either 80% oxygen or room air (21% oxygen). The mice were sacrificed at either 7 or 14 days after inoculation. Significantly more mice in the U. urealyticum group housed in 80% O2 than in the room air-exposed group were culture positive 14 days after inoculation (P = 0.042), but no difference was found at 7 days. The presence of alveolar macrophages, neutrophils, and lymphocytes and alveolar wall thickness were determined. Overall, the group housed in 80% O2 and inoculated with U. urealyticum had severe pulmonary lesions at both time points, while the lesion severity in the room air-exposed group inoculated with U. urealyticum and the group housed in 80% O2 and inoculated with sterile broth was dependent on the time point. Mortality was significantly higher in the group housed in 80% O2 and inoculated with U. urealyticum than it was in all other groups (P < 0.001). Our results indicate that hyperoxia causes the persistence of U. urealyticum in the lungs of newborn mice, acutely potentiates the inflammatory response, and turns an otherwise self-limited pneumonia into a lethal disease.