Skip to main content
PMC home page
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1984 Feb;43(2):543–548. doi: 10.1128/iai.43.2.543-548.1984

Effect of iron on antibacterial immunity in vaccinated mice.

I Kochan, S K Wagner, J Wasynczuk
PMCID: PMC264331  PMID: 6363291

Abstract

The effect of iron on resistance to Salmonella typhimurium was investigated in mice inoculated with vaccines prepared from live and avirulent (SL3770) or killed and virulent (SR11 or LT2) bacteria. It has been found that mice vaccinated with SL3770 vaccine develop an immunity which can be neutralized with iron. Iron promoted the development of lethal infections by serving as a growth-essential nutrilite for infecting bacteria and by neutralizing the acquired immunity. The titration of this dual effect of iron showed that more iron was needed to neutralize the immunity in vaccinated animals than to promote bacterial growth in normal animals. In the presence of a sufficient amount of exogenous iron, as few as 10 bacteria caused lethal infections in normal and immune mice with the same effectiveness. This iron-sensitive immunity could be changed to iron-resistant immunity by the immunological stimulation of SL3770-vaccinated mice with a sonicated vaccine prepared from heat-killed SR11 or LT2 bacteria. In distinction to iron-sensitive immunity, iron-resistant immunity could be transferred from SR11- or LT2-stimulated to normal mice with serum. Although effective in the transfer of antibacterial immunity, sera of SR11- or LT2-stimulated mice supported the growth of virulent bacteria as well as did sera of normal mice. The absorption of immune serum with either SR11 or LT2 bacteria removed its protective quality, but the sensitized bacteria remained as infectious as untreated bacteria for iron-treated normal mice. Only in SL3770-vaccinated mice were the immune serum-sensitized bacteria not able to cause the infection in spite of daily treatment with iron. These results suggest that iron-resistant immunity is due to the synergistic action of specific antibody and phagocytes of immunologically stimulated animals.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

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

  1. Archibald F. S., DeVoe I. W. Iron acquisition by Neisseria meningitidis in vitro. Infect Immun. 1980 Feb;27(2):322–334. doi: 10.1128/iai.27.2.322-334.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BURROWS T. W. VIRULENCE OF PASTEURELLA PESTIS AND IMMUNITY TO PLAGUE. Ergeb Mikrobiol Immunitatsforsch Exp Ther. 1963;37:59–113. doi: 10.1007/978-3-662-36742-1_2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bullen J. J., Joyce P. R. Abolition of the bactericidal function of polymorphs by ferritin-antiferritin complexes. Immunology. 1982 Jul;46(3):497–505. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bullen J. J., Rogers H. J., Griffiths E. Role of iron in bacterial infection. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1978;80:1–35. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-66956-9_1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bullen J. J., Wilson A. B., Cushnie G. H., Rogers H. J. The abolition of the protective effect of Pasteurella septica antiserum by iron compounds. Immunology. 1968 Jun;14(6):889–898. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Collins F. M. Vaccines and cell-mediated immunity. Bacteriol Rev. 1974 Dec;38(4):371–402. doi: 10.1128/br.38.4.371-402.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fitzgerald S. P., Rogers H. J. Bacteriostatic effect of serum: role of antibody to lipopolysaccharide. Infect Immun. 1980 Feb;27(2):302–308. doi: 10.1128/iai.27.2.302-308.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Germanier R. Immunity in experimental salmonellosis. 3. Comparative immunization with viable and heat-inactivated cells of Salmonella typhimurium. Infect Immun. 1972 May;5(5):792–797. doi: 10.1128/iai.5.5.792-797.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Golden C. A., Kochan I., Spriggs D. R. Role of mycobactin in the growth and virulence of tubercle bacilli. Infect Immun. 1974 Jan;9(1):34–40. doi: 10.1128/iai.9.1.34-40.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Goodwin J. F., Murphy B., Guillemette M. Direct measurement of serum iron and binding capacity. Clin Chem. 1966 Feb;12(2):47–57. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Holbein B. E. Iron-controlled infection with Neisseria meningitidis in mice. Infect Immun. 1980 Sep;29(3):886–891. doi: 10.1128/iai.29.3.886-891.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kaplan S. S., Quie P. G., Basford R. E. Effect of iron on leukocyte function: inactivation of H2O2 BY IRON. Infect Immun. 1975 Aug;12(2):303–308. doi: 10.1128/iai.12.2.303-308.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kochan I., Kvach J. T., Wiles T. I. Virulence-associated acquisition of iron in mammalian serum by Escherichia coli. J Infect Dis. 1977 Apr;135(4):623–632. doi: 10.1093/infdis/135.4.623. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kochan I. The role of iron in bacterial infections, with special consideration of host-tubercle bacillus interaction. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1973;60:1–30. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-65502-9_1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kochan I., Wasynczuk J., McCabe M. A. Effects of injected iron and siderophores on infections in normal and immune mice. Infect Immun. 1978 Nov;22(2):560–567. doi: 10.1128/iai.22.2.560-567.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kvach J. T., Wiles T. I., Mellencamp M. W., Kochan I. Use of transferrin-iron enterobactin complexes as the source of iron by serum-exposed bacteria. Infect Immun. 1977 Nov;18(2):439–445. doi: 10.1128/iai.18.2.439-445.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Moore D. G., Earhart C. F. Specific inhibition of Escherichia coli ferrienterochelin uptake by a normal human serum immunoglobulin. Infect Immun. 1981 Feb;31(2):631–635. doi: 10.1128/iai.31.2.631-635.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Nakoneczna I., Hsu H. S. Histopathological study of protective immunity against murine salmonellosis induced by killed vaccine. Infect Immun. 1983 Jan;39(1):423–430. doi: 10.1128/iai.39.1.423-430.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Ornellas E. P., Roantree R. J., Steward J. P. The specificity and importance of humoral antibody in the protection of mice against intraperitoneal challenge with complement-sensitive and complement-resistant Salmonella. J Infect Dis. 1970 Feb;121(2):113–123. doi: 10.1093/infdis/121.2.113. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Payne S. M., Finkelstein R. A. Pathogenesis and immunology of experimental gonococcal infection: role of iron in virulence. Infect Immun. 1975 Dec;12(6):1313–1318. doi: 10.1128/iai.12.6.1313-1318.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Rogers H. J. Ferric iron and the antibacterial effects of horse 7S antibodies to Escherichia coli O111. Immunology. 1976 Mar;30(3):425–433. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Rogers H. J. Iron-Binding Catechols and Virulence in Escherichia coli. Infect Immun. 1973 Mar;7(3):445–456. doi: 10.1128/iai.7.3.445-456.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Sword C. P. Mechanisms of pathogenesis in Listeria monocytogenes infection. I. Influence of iron. J Bacteriol. 1966 Sep;92(3):536–542. doi: 10.1128/jb.92.3.536-542.1966. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. WHEELER W. C., HANKS J. H. UTILIZATION OF EXTERNAL GROWTH FACTORS BY INTRACELLULAR MICROBES: MYCOBACTERIUM PARATUBERCULOSIS AND WOOD PIGEON MYCOBACTERIA. J Bacteriol. 1965 Mar;89:889–896. doi: 10.1128/jb.89.3.889-896.1965. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Weinberg E. D. Iron and infection. Microbiol Rev. 1978 Mar;42(1):45–66. doi: 10.1128/mr.42.1.45-66.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Yancey R. J., Breeding S. A., Lankford C. E. Enterochelin (enterobactin): virulence factor for Salmonella typhimurium. Infect Immun. 1979 Apr;24(1):174–180. doi: 10.1128/iai.24.1.174-180.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Infection and Immunity are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES