A rat model of chronic respiratory infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Chronic, nonlethal, pulmonary infection of rats by Pseudomonas aeruginosa can be initiated by intratracheal inoculation of 10(4) bacteria enmeshed in agar beads. The number of bacteria recoverable from the lung increased to approximately 10(6) within 3 days and remained at that number during 35 days of observation. Histologic examination of the infected lungs revealed lesions resembling those seen in lung tissue of humans with acute or chronic nonbacteremic, Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia, including the presence of goblet-cell hyperplasia, focal areas of necrosis, and acute and chronic inflammatory infiltrate. This model should be useful for investigating the interactions between microbial virulence factors and host defense mechanisms.