Analyzing Macrophage Infection at the Organ Level

Abstract

Classical in vivo infection models are oftentimes associated with speculation due to the many physiological factors that are unseen or not accounted for when analyzing experimental outputs, especially when solely utilizing the classic approach of tissue-derived colony-forming unit (CFU) enumeration. To better understand the steps and natural progression of bacterial infection, the pathophysiology of individual organs with which the bacteria interact in their natural course of infection must be considered. In this case, it is not only important to isolate organs as much as possible from additional physiological processes, but to also consider the dynamics of the bacteria at the cellular level within these organs of interest. Here, we describe in detail two models, ex vivo porcine liver and spleen coperfusion and a murine infection model, and the numerous associated experimental outputs produced by these models that can be taken and used together to investigate the pathogen–host interactions within tissues in depth.