A Clinical Scoring Systems for the Evaluation of Corynebacterium bovis -associated Disease in NSG Mice

Abstract

Clinical signs of Corynebacterium bovis infections are well-known in athymic nude mice. However, C. bovis can also infect and cause clinical signs in many hirsute, immunocompromised mouse strains such as NSG (NOD. Cg-Prkdcscid Il2rgtm1Wgl/SzJ). Typically, the clinical assessment of C. bovis-infected mice begins when overt clinical signs are initially observed and thus the early course of infection has not been thoroughly described. The goal of this study was to characterize the clinical progression of C. bovis infection in NSG mice under experimental conditions and develop a quantifiable clinical scoring system. For the development and application of this clinical scoring system, 54 naïve NSG mice were exposed to soiled bedding from clinically ill C. bovis-infected NSG mice and the emergence of clinical signs was monitored and scored weekly for 8 wk. Overall, we identified 6 benchmark changes associated with C. bovis clinical infection. Four changes were the appearance of the eyes, ears, hair coat, and posture. Two behavioral changes were increased grooming activity and rapid head shaking. All clinical signs appeared consistently and progressed temporally with increasing clinical severity. Characterization of clinical signs and scoring of clinical disease will aid veterinarians in the assessment of C. bovis-infected NSG mice and may help in the evaluation of current and future clinical interventions used to prevent or treat C. bovis-infected immunodeficient mice.