Effect of fusafungine on adherence of Haemophilus influenzae type b to human epithelial cells in vitro.
Haemophilus influenzae, a normal host of the nasopharynx of humans, may become a pathogen. The first step of infection is adherence to epithelial cells of the nasopharynx through glycopeptidic adhesins, or pili. Adherence to human epithelial cells in continuous lines, HeLa and Hep2, of 8 piliated strains of Haemophilus influenzae isolated from human infections of the respiratory tract was studied in vitro in the presence of fusafungine, a local bacteriostatic antibiotic. When the bacteria were grown in the presence of 0.5 x the MIC, fusafungine afforded 45-75% of adherence inhibition, but this inhibitory effect did not parallel the MICs. In contrast, no significant effect could be observed either when epithelial cells were exposed to 0.5 x the MIC before use in the adherence assay, or when this assay was performed in the presence of 0.5 x the MIC of fusafungine. The partial adherence inhibition observed suggests that fusafungine interacts with the bacterial binding sites but that other mechanisms may contribute to the inhibitory process. This effect of fusafungine should prevent but not eradicate colonization of the nasopharyngeal mucosa by Haemophilus influenzae and may account for the therapeutic efficacy reported in infections of the respiratory tract due to Haemophilus influenzae.
Karam-Sarkis
D
D
Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Hôpital Bichat-Cl Bernard, Paris, France.
German-Fattal
M
M
Bourlioux
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P
D000336:Aerosols / Q000494:pharmacology; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects*; D047630:Depsipeptides; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D005670:Fusarium; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests
D000336:Aerosols; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D047630:Depsipeptides; C014001:fusafungin