Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Immunology logoLink to Immunology
. 1977 Aug;33(2):191–197.

Opsonic requirements for staphylococcal phagocytosis. Heterogeneity among strains.

J Verhoef, P Peterson, Y Kim, L D Sabath, P G Quie
PMCID: PMC1445340  PMID: 415969

Abstract

Efficient phagocytosis of staphylococci by human neutrophilis is dependent on bacterial opsonization by serum factors. These factors include specific antibodies as well as components of the classical and alternative complement systems. In this study the opsonic requirements of three strains of S. aureus and three strains of S. epidermidis were investigated by incubating [3H]thymidine-labelled bacteria in sera with different opsonic activities and measuring rates of phagocytosis by human neutrophils. Opsonization of S. aureus Cowan I and 502 A depended primarily on activation of the classical complement pathway. Effective opsonization occurred in the absence of immunoglobulin but not in the absence of complement. A protein A deficient mutant of S. aureus Cowan I was poorly opsonized in the absence of IgG, however. S. aureus Wood 46 and two strains of S. epidermidis were opsonized primarily through the alternative complement pathway and depended on the presence of serum IgG. A third S. epidermidis strain was efficiently opsonized in heat-inactivated serum without complement activity. Thus, a heterogeneity of opsonic requirements was found among staphylococcal strains. It is proposed that cell wall protein A may be an important determinant of this heterogeneity.

Full text

PDF
191

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Baird-Parker A. C. The basis for the present classification of staphylococci and micrococci. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1974 Jul 31;236(0):7–14. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1974.tb41478.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Forsgren A., Nordström K., Philipson L., Sjöquist J. Protein A mutants of Staphylococcus aureus. J Bacteriol. 1971 Jul;107(1):245–250. doi: 10.1128/jb.107.1.245-250.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Forsgren A., Quie P. G. Influence of the alternate complement pathway in opsonization of several bacterial species. Infect Immun. 1974 Aug;10(2):402–404. doi: 10.1128/iai.10.2.402-404.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Henson P. M., Johnson H. B., Spiegelberg H. L. The release of granule enzymes from human neutrophils stimulated by aggregated immunoglobulins of different classes and subclasses. J Immunol. 1972 Dec;109(6):1182–1192. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Jasin H. E. Human heat labile opsonins: evidence for their mediation via the alternate pathway of complement activation. J Immunol. 1972 Jul;109(1):26–31. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Johnson F. R., Agnello V., Williams R. C., Jr Opsonic activity in human serum deficient in C2. J Immunol. 1972 Jul;109(1):141–145. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. LI I. W., MUDD S. THE HEAT-LABILE SERUM FACTOR ASSOCIATED WITH INTRACELLULAR KILLING OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. J Immunol. 1965 Jun;94:852–857. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Laxdal T., Messner R. P., Williams R. C., Jr, Quie P. G. Opsonic, agglutinating, and complement-fixing antibodies in patients with subacute bacterial endocarditis. J Lab Clin Med. 1968 Apr;71(4):638–653. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. May J. E., Frank M. M. A new complement-mediated cytolytic mechanism--the C1-bypass activation pathway. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Mar;70(3):649–652. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.3.649. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Messner R. P., Laxidal T., Quie P. G., Williams R. C., Jr Serum opsonin, bacteria, and polymorphonuclear leukocyte interactions in subacute bacterial endocarditis. Anti-gamma-globulin factors and their interaction with specific opsonins. J Clin Invest. 1968 May;47(5):1109–1120. doi: 10.1172/JCI105800. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Miller D. S., Beck S. Polymorphonuclear leukocyte phagocytosis: quantitation by a rapid radioactive method. J Lab Clin Med. 1975 Aug;86(2):344–348. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Nickerson D. S., Kazmierowski J. A., Dossett J. H., Williams R. C., Jr, Quie P. G. Studies of immune and normal opsonins during experimental staphylococcal infection in rabbits. J Immunol. 1969 May;102(5):1235–1241. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Sjöquist J., Stålenheim G. Protein A from Staphylococcus aureus. IX. Complement-fixing activity of protein A-IgG complexes. J Immunol. 1969 Sep;103(3):467–473. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Stossel T. P. Quantitative studies of phagocytosis. Kinetic effects of cations and heat-labile opsonin. J Cell Biol. 1973 Aug;58(2):346–356. doi: 10.1083/jcb.58.2.346. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Stålenheim G., Götze O., Cooper N. R., Sjöquist J., Müller-Eberhard H. J. Consumption of human complement components by complexes of IgG with protein A of Staphylococcus aureus. Immunochemistry. 1973 Aug;10(8):501–507. doi: 10.1016/0019-2791(73)90221-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Wheat L. J., Humphreys D. W., White A. Opsonization of staphylococci by normal human sera: the role of antibody and heat-labile factors. J Lab Clin Med. 1974 Jan;83(1):73–78. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Williams R. C., Jr, Quie P. G. Opsonic activity of agammaglobulinemic human sera. J Immunol. 1971 Jan;106(1):51–55. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Winkelstein J. A., Shin H. S. The role of immunoglobulin in the interaction of pneumococci and the properdin pathway: evidence for its specificity and lack of requirement for the Fc portion of the molecule. J Immunol. 1974 May;112(5):1635–1642. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Winkelstein J. A., Shin H. S., Wood W. B., Jr Heat labile opsonins to Pneumococcus. 3. The participation of immunoglobulin and of the alternate pathway of C3 activation. J Immunol. 1972 Jun;108(6):1681–1689. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES