Skip to main content

Use of a Chicken Embryo Lethality Assay to Assess the Efficacy of Phage Therapy

  • Protocol
  • First Online:
Bacteriophages

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1898))

Abstract

To combat infectious diseases induced by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in human and animals, phage therapy has regained attention by the scientific community. Before phages can be widely accepted as therapeutics in the same way as antibiotics, convincing detailed applied experimental evidence must be available. The embryonated chicken egg model has been used to study the virulence of many pathogens. We describe here a procedure to test the efficacy of phage therapy to treat colibacillosis using a chicken embryo lethality assay, this being potentially applied to others bacterial infection.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Protocol
USD 49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Zhuang QY, Wang SC, Li JP, Liu D, Liu S, Jiang WM, Chen JM (2014) A clinical survey of common avian infectious diseases in China. Avian Dis 58(2):297–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Barnes HJ, L. K. Nolan, and J.-P. Vaillancourt (2008) Colibacillosis. In: Y. M. Saif, AM Fadly, J. R. Glisson, L. R. McDougald, L. K. Nolan, and D. E. Swayne (ed) Diseases of poultry. 12 Blackwell Publishing Hoboken, pp 691–737

    Google Scholar 

  3. Guabiraba R, Schouler C (2015) Avian colibacillosis: still many black holes. FEMS Microbiol Lett 362(15):fnv118. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fnv118

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Poulsen LL, Thofner I, Bisgaard M, Christensen JP, Olsen RH, Christensen H (2017) Longitudinal study of transmission of Escherichia coli from broiler breeders to broilers. Vet Microbiol 207:13–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2017.05.029

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Mellata M (2013) Human and avian extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli: infections, zoonotic risks, and antibiotic resistance trends. Foodborne Pathog Dis 10(11):916–932. https://doi.org/10.1089/fpd.2013.1533

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Moulin-Schouleur M, Reperant M, Laurent S, Bree A, Mignon-Grasteau S, Germon P, Rasschaert D, Schouler C (2007) Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strains of avian and human origin: link between phylogenetic relationships and common virulence patterns. J Clin Microbiol 45(10):3366–3376

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Moulin-Schouleur M, Schouler C, Tailliez P, Kao MR, Bree A, Germon P, Oswald E, Mainil J, Blanco M, Blanco J (2006) Common virulence factors and genetic relationships between O18:K1:H7 Escherichia coli isolates of human and avian origin. J Clin Microbiol 44(10):3484–3492

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Nobrega FL, Costa AR, Kluskens LD, Azeredo J (2015) Revisiting phage therapy: new applications for old resources. Trends Microbiol 23(4):185–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2015.01.006

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Barrow P, Lovell M, Berchieri A Jr (1998) Use of lytic bacteriophage for control of experimental Escherichia coli septicemia and meningitis in chickens and calves. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 5(3):294–298

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Huff WE, Huff GR, Rath NC, Balog JM, Donoghue AM (2002) Prevention of Escherichia coli infection in broiler chickens with a bacteriophage aerosol spray. Poult Sci 81(10):1486–1491

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Huff WE, Huff GR, Rath NC, Balog JM, Donoghue AM (2003) Evaluation of aerosol spray and intramuscular injection of bacteriophage to treat an Escherichia coli respiratory infection. Poult Sci 82(7):1108–1112

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Alnassan AA, Shehata AA, Kotsch M, Lendner M, Daugschies A, Bangoura B (2013) Embryonated chicken eggs as an alternative model for mixed Clostridium perfringens and Eimeria tenella infection in chickens. Parasitol Res 112(6):2299–2306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-013-3392-5

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Blanco AE, Barz M, Cavero D, Icken W, Sharifi AR, Voss M, Buxade C, Preisinger R (2018) Characterization of Enterococcus faecalis isolates by chicken embryo lethality assay and ERIC-PCR. Avian Pathol 47(1):23–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/03079457.2017.1359404

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Gibbs PS, Wooley RE (2003) Comparison of the intravenous chicken challenge method with the embryo lethality assay for studies in avian colibacillosis. Avian Dis 47(3):672–680. https://doi.org/10.1637/7011

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Gripenland J, Andersson C, Johansson J (2014) Exploring the chicken embryo as a possible model for studying Listeria monocytogenes pathogenicity. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 4:170. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2014.00170

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Horzempa J, O'Dee DM, Shanks RM, Nau GJ (2010) Francisella tularensis DeltapyrF mutants show that replication in nonmacrophages is sufficient for pathogenesis in vivo. Infect Immun 78(6):2607–2619. https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00134-10

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Polakowska K, Lis MW, Helbin WM, Dubin G, Dubin A, Niedziolka JW, Miedzobrodzki J, Wladyka B (2012) The virulence of Staphylococcus aureus correlates with strain genotype in a chicken embryo model but not a nematode model. Microbes Infect 14(14):1352–1362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micinf.2012.09.006

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Townsend MK, Carr NJ, Iyer JG, Horne SM, Gibbs PS, Pruss BM (2008) Pleiotropic phenotypes of a Yersinia enterocolitica flhD mutant include reduced lethality in a chicken embryo model. BMC Microbiol 8:12. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-8-12

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Wang X, Carmichael DW, Cady EB, Gearing O, Bainbridge A, Ordidge RJ, Raivich G, Peebles DM (2008) Greater hypoxia-induced cell death in prenatal brain after bacterial-endotoxin pretreatment is not because of enhanced cerebral energy depletion: a chicken embryo model of the intrapartum response to hypoxia and infection. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 28(5):948–960. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jcbfm.9600586

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Wooley RE, Gibbs PS, Brown TP, Maurer JJ (2000) Chicken embryo lethality assay for determining the virulence of avian Escherichia coli isolates. Avian Dis 44(2):318–324

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Borst LB, Suyemoto MM, Keelara S, Dunningan SE, Guy JS, Barnes HJ (2014) A chicken embryo lethality assay for pathogenic Enterococcus cecorum. Avian Dis 58(2):244–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Nolan LK, Wooley RE, Brown J, Spears KR, Dickerson HW, Dekich M (1992) Comparison of a complement resistance test, a chicken embryo lethality test, and the chicken lethality test for determining virulence of avian Escherichia coli. Avian Dis 36(2):395–397

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Da Silva M, Dombre C, Brionne A, Monget P, Chesse M, De Pauw M, Mills M, Combes-Soia L, Labas V, Guyot N, Nys Y, Rehault-Godbert S (2018) The unique features of proteins depicting the chicken amniotic fluid. Mol Cell Proteomics. https://doi.org/10.1074/mcp.RA117.000459

  24. Bertani G (2004) Lysogeny at mid-twentieth century: P1, P2, and other experimental systems. J Bacteriol 186(3):595–600

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Bewick V, Cheek L, Ball J (2004) Statistics review 12: survival analysis. Crit Care 8(5):389–394. https://doi.org/10.1186/cc2955

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Trotereau A, Gonnet M, Viardot A, Lalmanach AC, Guabiraba R, Chanteloup NK, Schouler C (2017) Complete genome sequences of two Escherichia coli phages, vB_EcoM_ ESCO5 and vB_EcoM_ESCO13, which are related to phAPEC8. Genome Announc 5(13). https://doi.org/10.1128/genomeA.01337-16

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the personnel at PFIE (plateforme d’infectiologie expérimentale) from INRA Val de Loire for providing the SPF embryonated eggs.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Catherine Schouler .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this protocol

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this protocol

Trotereau, A., Schouler, C. (2019). Use of a Chicken Embryo Lethality Assay to Assess the Efficacy of Phage Therapy. In: Clokie, M., Kropinski, A., Lavigne, R. (eds) Bacteriophages. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1898. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8940-9_17

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8940-9_17

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-8939-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-8940-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics