Vitro Studies On The Intra-erythrocytic Parasitism Of Bartonella Hensalea

Bartonella spp. is a small, fastidious, intracellular Gram-negative bacteria that has been identified recently in a wide range of domestic and wild mammals. The genus Bartonella has expanded in the recent 15 years from the single Bartonella bacilliformis to at least 20 recognized species and subspecies, in which at least 10 of these species and subspecies are known or suspected to be pathogenic for humans. As the improvement on its diagnosis continues, knowledge of the spectrum of clinical diseases resulting from Bartonella infection is expanding. Three Bartonella species, B. bacilliformis (Carrion's disease), B. henselae (cat-scratch disease), and B. quintana (trench fever), have been well elucidated as primary pathogens of human bartonellosis. Of these, Bartonella hensalea is the most common pathogen induced human bartonellosis. Establishment of infection model in vitro is important for study of the mechanism of host-pathogen interaction. However, in vitro studies on the intra-erythrocytic parasitism of bartonella hensalea had not been confirmed with different results obtained from different research groups. Here, we aim to establish the in vitro model of Bartonella hensalea by using gentamycin protection assay and transmission electronic microscope.