Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30067135›Full record

ArticleVirulence2018

Galleria mellonella - a novel infection model for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex.

Yanwen Li, John Spiropoulos, William Cooley, Jasmeet Singh Khara, Camilla A Gladstone, Masanori Asai, Janine T Bossé, Brian D Robertson, Sandra M Newton, Paul R Langford

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Virulence, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Interplay ofVirulence · 2025
    Article
  6. NProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Frontiers in tuberculosis · 2025
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Microorganisms · 2023
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Virulence · 2022
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Innate Immune Responses ofFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021
    Article
  20. Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2021
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Yanwen Lia Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Allergy, Department of Medicine , Imperial College London , London , UK.
John Spiropoulosb Department of Pathology , Animal and Plant Health Agency , Addlestone , UK.
William Cooleyb Department of Pathology , Animal and Plant Health Agency , Addlestone , UK.
Jasmeet Singh Kharaa Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Allergy, Department of Medicine , Imperial College London , London , UK.
Camilla A Gladstonea Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Allergy, Department of Medicine , Imperial College London , London , UK.
Masanori Asaia Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Allergy, Department of Medicine , Imperial College London , London , UK.
Janine T Bosséa Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Allergy, Department of Medicine , Imperial College London , London , UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8491-4779
Brian D Robertsond MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine , Imperial College London , London , UK.
Sandra M Newtona Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Allergy, Department of Medicine , Imperial College London , London , UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6545-9558
Paul R Langforda Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Allergy, Department of Medicine , Imperial College London , London , UK.ORCID 0000-0002-6368-4724
Imperial College London · GBAnimal and Plant Health Agency · GBNational University of Singapore · SG

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/P001262/1National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research NC/R001596/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Animal models have long been used in tuberculosis research to understand disease pathogenesis and to evaluate novel vaccine candidates and anti-mycobacterial drugs. However, all have limitations and there is no single animal model which mimics all the aspects of mycobacterial pathogenesis seen in humans. Importantly mice, the most commonly used model, do not normally form granulomas, the hallmark of tuberculosis infection. Thus there is an urgent need for the development of new alternative in vivo models. The insect larvae, Galleria mellonella has been increasingly used as a successful, simple, widely available and cost-effective model to study microbial infections. Here we report for the first time that G. mellonella can be used as an infection model for members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. We demonstrate a dose-response for G. mellonella survival infected with different inocula of bioluminescent Mycobacterium bovis BCG lux, and demonstrate suppression of mycobacterial luminesence over 14 days. Histopathology staining and transmission electron microscopy of infected G. mellonella phagocytic haemocytes show internalization and aggregation of M. bovis BCG lux in granuloma-like structures, and increasing accumulation of lipid bodies within M. bovis BCG lux over time, characteristic of latent tuberculosis infection. Our results demonstrate that G. mellonella can act as a surrogate host to study the pathogenesis of mycobacterial infection and shed light on host-mycobacteria interactions, including latent tuberculosis infection.

Indexed as

Disease Models, AnimalHost-Pathogen InteractionsAnimalsGranulomaImmunity, InnateLarvaLipid DropletsLuminescent MeasurementsMicroscopy, Electron, TransmissionMothsMycobacterium bovisMycobacterium tuberculosisPhagocytesTime FactorsTuberculosisGalleria mellonellagranulomahaemocyteshost-pathogen interactionsinfection modelmycobacteriaMycobacterium bovis BCG luxMycobacterium tuberculosis complextuberculosis

Identifiers

PMID30067135
PMCPMC6086298
OpenAlexW2887342838

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.