Skip to main content
PMC home page
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1979 Sep;25(3):781–785. doi: 10.1128/iai.25.3.781-785.1979

Influence of preformed antibody on experimental Streptococcus sanguis endocarditis.

W M Scheld, J H Thomas, M A Sande
PMCID: PMC414515  PMID: 500187

Abstract

The influence of preformed, anti-whole organism antibody on the development of Streptococcus sanguis endocarditis was examined in both in vivo and in vitro systems. Antibody prevented, rather than potentiated, endocarditis in rabbits. The infectious dose in 30 control animals was 10(6.5) +/- 0.33 (mean +/- standard deviation); this increased to 10(7.71 +/- 0.05 in 36 immunized animals (P less than 0.01). No differences in bacterial clearance mechanisms were apparent between groups. Antibody also prevented the adherence of S. sanguis to the constituents of nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (fibrin and platelets) in vitro. When preincubated in high-titer antisera, adherence of S. sanguis was reduced compared with controls (adherence ratio mean +/- standard error of the mean, X 10(4): 174 +/- 5 versus 427 +/- 10, P less than 0.001). Preadsorption of immune sera with intact S. sanguis restored adherence to normal values, whereas preadsorption with dextran was partially effective. These studies demonstrate that preformed antibody had a protective role in vivo and suggest that a possible mechanism is blockade of adherence, a crucial early step in the pathogenesis of endocarditis.

Full text

PDF
785

Selected References

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

  1. Bayer A. S., Theofilopoulos A. N., Eisenberg R., Dixon F. J., Guze L. B. Circulating immune complexes in infective endocarditis. N Engl J Med. 1976 Dec 30;295(27):1500–1505. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197612302952703. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Durack D. T., Gilliland B. C., Petersdorf R. G. Effect of immunization on susceptibility to experimental Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguis endocarditis. Infect Immun. 1978 Oct;22(1):52–56. doi: 10.1128/iai.22.1.52-56.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Evans R. T., Emmings F. G., Genco R. J. Prevention of Streptococcus mutans infection of tooth surfaces by salivary antibody in Irus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Infect Immun. 1975 Aug;12(2):293–302. doi: 10.1128/iai.12.2.293-302.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Facklam R. R. Physiological differentiation of viridans streptococci. J Clin Microbiol. 1977 Feb;5(2):184–201. doi: 10.1128/jcm.5.2.184-201.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. 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]
  6. Lehner T., Challacombe S. J., Caldwell J. An immunological investigation into the prevention of caries in deciduous teeth of rhesus monkeys. Arch Oral Biol. 1975 May-Jun;20(5-6):305–310. doi: 10.1016/0003-9969(75)90019-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Lunn J. S., Bunn P. A. Immunoglobulin responses to bacterial endocarditis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother (Bethesda) 1965;5:59–63. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Miller J. K. Meningococcal Endocarditis in Immunized Horses. Am J Pathol. 1944 Mar;20(2):269–276. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Pelletier L. L., Jr, Coyle M., Petersdorf R. Dextran production as a possible virulence factor in streptococcal endocarditis. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1978 Jul;158(3):415–420. doi: 10.3181/00379727-158-40216. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Ramirez-Ronda C. H. Adherence of glucan-positive and glucan-negative streptococcal strains to normal and damaged heart valves. J Clin Invest. 1978 Oct;62(4):805–814. doi: 10.1172/JCI109192. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Scheld W. M., Valone J. A., Sande M. A. Bacterial adherence in the pathogenesis of endocarditis. Interaction of bacterial dextran, platelets, and fibrin. J Clin Invest. 1978 May;61(5):1394–1404. doi: 10.1172/JCI109057. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Shanson D. C., Hince C. An immunofluorescent method for detecting antibodies against viridans streptococci in Streptococcus viridans endocarditis. J Clin Pathol. 1978 Mar;31(3):292–293. doi: 10.1136/jcp.31.3.292. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Talbman M. A., Smith D. J. Effects of local immunization with Streptococcus mutans on induction of salivary immunoglobulin A antibody and experimental dental caries in rats. Infect Immun. 1974 Jun;9(6):1079–1091. doi: 10.1128/iai.9.6.1079-1091.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Weinstein L., Schlesinger J. J. Pathoanatomic, pathophysiologic and clinical correlations in endocarditis (first of two parts). N Engl J Med. 1974 Oct 17;291(16):832–837. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197410172911609. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES