Transcriptomic analysis from the epiploon in experimentally infected mice by Neisseria meningitidis

Invasive meningococcal disease can manifest by abdominal presentations that were hypothesized to be associated with the formation of microinfarcts in the blood vessels of the epiploon/omentum (a highly vascularized fold of the peritoneum connecting the various abdominal viscera). Thus, this presentation (abdominal pain) experienced by patients with gastrointestinal symptoms results from mesenteric hypoperfusion related to thrombosis formation in mesenteric vessels. We used experimental infection in transgenic mice infected by Neisseria meningitidis. We analyzed the differentially expressed genes in the epiploon of mice to infer their role in provoking lesions that may lead to these abdominal symptoms.