In Vivo Bacterial Burden
In Vivo Bacterial Burden - Related Videos
02:03
Assessing Bacterial Burden in the Mouse Spleen for Infection Studies
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2026
Source: Madenspacher, J. H. and Fessler, M. B. A Non-invasive and Technically Non-intensive Method for Induction and Phenotyping of Experimental Bacterial Pneumonia in Mice. J. Vis. Exp. (2016)This video demonstrates the process of quantifying bacterial load in the spleen of an infected mouse to assess the severity of infection. The homogenized spleen is serially diluted and plated to determine total bacterial burden. The resulting data provide insights into host-pathogen interactions within...
04:29
Monitoring Neutrophil Recruitment Dynamics and Bacterial Burden at the Infection Site in a Murine Model
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2025
This video demonstrates in vivo imaging to study the neutrophil recruitment dynamics at an infection site in an immunocompromised, transgenic mouse with GFP-expressing neutrophils. It involves injecting luminescent bacteria to cause an infection. This leads to neutrophil recruitment to the infection site, whose tracking is done by imaging.
03:23
Measurement of the In Vivo Burden of Bacteria Expressing Luciferase in an Insect Larva
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2025
This video showcases the in vivo bacterial burden measurement using Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, BCG, lux-infected insect larvae. The process involves larval homogenization, treatment with a luciferase substrate, and bioluminescence measurement to determine relative light units that correlate with bacterial burden.
05:06
Bioluminescent Bacterial Imaging In Vivo
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Cited by 9 •
2012
This article describes the administration of lux-tagged bacteria to mice and subsequent in vivo analysis using IVIS bioluminescence imaging.
05:00
Porcine Ex vivo Cornea Model of Bacterial Keratitis: A Technique to Establish Bacterial Infection in Corneal Epithelial Cells
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2025
This video describes a protocol to set up an ex vivo model for bacterial keratitis using a corneoscleral button dissected from the porcine eye. Inoculated bacteria traverse the corneal epithelial incisions to invade the underlying stroma and establish an infection within the corneal tissues that mimic the in vivo infection.
FAQs
Culture-based counts estimate viable bacteria through colonies that arise after samples are diluted and cultured. Molecular assays instead detect bacterial genetic material, so they provide complementary evidence rather than the same measurement. Considering both readouts can help researchers characterize infection and interpret treatment outcomes using information about recoverable bacteria alongside detection of bacterial material.
Serial dilutions make cultured samples suitable for colony counting by reducing the concentration of bacteria in a controlled sequence. Researchers can then count colonies and express the result as colony-forming units. This approach converts a complex tissue or fluid sample into a quantitative measurement that supports comparisons of infection levels across specimens, experimental groups, or time points.
Measuring separate infected tissues or fluids can show whether bacteria remain localized or appear in additional sites, providing evidence of tissue dissemination. Comparing these compartments also helps researchers examine how infection progresses through the organism and whether host control differs by location. Such patterns add spatial context that a single overall measurement would not provide.
Burden measurements provide a quantitative outcome for examining host control of infection. Changes in bacterial levels can be considered alongside investigations of innate and adaptive immune responses, helping researchers relate immune activity to bacterial replication, persistence, or reduction. In immunology and infection studies, this connection supports analysis of how host defenses influence disease progression.
A typical workflow begins by collecting infected tissues or fluids, followed by homogenization to prepare the sample for analysis. The homogenate is serially diluted and cultured, after which researchers count colonies to estimate colony-forming units. Molecular assays may be added when detection of bacterial genetic material is also relevant to the experimental question.
Researchers use this endpoint to evaluate antimicrobial treatments, vaccines, and other strategies intended to reduce or eliminate infection. It can also track disease progression, bacterial replication, and dissemination across tissues. Because burden is measurable, it helps connect an intervention or immune response with an observed change in the amount of bacteria present.