H. hepaticus 3B1 (ATCC 51449) were purchased from ATCC (Maryland, USA), and were cultured on Brucella agar plates (BD, USA) supplemented with 5% defibrinated sheep blood and antibiotics for 4–5 days under microaerobic conditions (85% N2, 10% CO2, 5% O2) at 37°C. Bacteria were harvested in PBS and used for oral infection when OD600 reading was 1.15 (link)