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This review was made in the frame of projects PID2019-107601RB-C31 and PID2019-107601RA-C32 financed by MCIN/AEI/10.1303910.13039/501100011033. A.E-B's work was supported by a Ph.D. Fellowship funded by the Institute of Tropical Health University of Navarra (ISTUN) funders (Fundacion la CAIXA [LCF/PR/PR13/51080005], Fundacion Maria Francisca de Roviralta, and Ubesol) and REPRODIVAC project under Grant Agreement No. 10106081 through the HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-06 Call. P.M.M's (CITA) work was also supported by the Aragon Government (Grupo de Investigacion A21_23R).

Analysis of institutional authors

Munoz, Pilar MAuthor

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March 29, 2025
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A Review on the Methodology and Use of the Pregnant Mouse Model in the Study of Brucella Reproductive Pathogenesis and Its Abortifacient Effect

Publicated to:Microorganisms. 12 (5): 866- - 2024-05-01 12(5), DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12050866

Authors: Elizalde-Bielsa, Aitor; Munoz, Pilar M; Zuniga-Ripa, Amaia; Conde-Alvarez, Raquel

Affiliations

Ctr Invest & Tecnol Agroalimentaria Aragon CITA, Dept Anim Sci, Zaragoza 50059, Spain - Author
Univ Navarra, Dept Microbiol & Parasitol, Inst Invest Sanitaria Navarra IdiSNA, Pamplona 31008, Spain - Author
Univ Zaragoza, Inst Agroalimentario Aragon IA2, CITA, Zaragoza 50009, Spain - Author

Abstract

Brucellosis is one of the most common and widespread bacterial zoonoses and is caused by Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the genus Brucella. These organisms are able to infect and replicate within the placenta, resulting in abortion, one of the main clinical signs of brucellosis. Although the mouse model is widely used to study Brucella virulence and, more recently, to evaluate the protection of new vaccines, there is no clear consensus on the experimental conditions (e.g., mouse strains, doses, routes of inoculation, infection/pregnancy time) and the natural host reproducibility of the pregnant mouse model for reproductive brucellosis. This lack of consensus calls for a review that integrates the major findings regarding the effect of Brucella wild-type and vaccine strains infections on mouse pregnancy. We found sufficient evidence on the utility of the pregnant mouse model to study Brucella-induced placentitis and abortion and propose suitable experimental conditions (dose, time of infection) and pregnancy outcome readouts for B. abortus and B. melitensis studies. Finally, we discuss the utility and limitations of the pregnant mouse as a predictive model for the abortifacient effect of live Brucella vaccines.

Keywords

AbortionAbortoAbortus infectionAgrobacteriumAnimales de laboratorioBrucellaColonizatioEmbriones animalesEpidemiologyLesionsMelitensisModelPatogénesisPlacentaPlacental pathologyPregnant mouseRatónReproductive pathogenesisSheepTrophoblastVaccinVaccineVacunaVertical transmissionVirb

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Microorganisms due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position 46/163, thus managing to position itself as a Q2 (Segundo Cuartil), in the category Microbiology. Notably, the journal is positioned en el Cuartil Q2 para la agencia Scopus (SJR) en la categoría .

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-09-17:

  • WoS: 2
  • Scopus: 3

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-09-17:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 10 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

    • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
    • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/10532/6992