Pneumonia in mice inoculated experimentally with Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus.

In an attempt to elucidate whether Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus (APM) was pathogenic (i.e., induces histological evidence of inflammation or tissue destruction or both) in mammalian host, we inoculated adult BALB/c (n=6) and C57BL/6 (n=6) mice with APM via intracardiac route. C57BL/6 mice developed histopathological features of pneumonia by post-inoculation day (PID) 3 and BALB/c mice, by PID7. The histopathological features of pneumonia, characterized by the presence of thickened alveolar walls with cellular infiltrates comprising mononuclear leukocytes, macrophages and lymphocytes, diffuse alveolar damages with the formation of hyaline membrane and erythrocytes in the alveolar lumen, were most marked by PID 7. We conclude that APM is pathogenic in mice in experimental conditions.