title: Specific pulmonary defences against Pseudomonas aeruginosa after local immunization with temperature-sensitive mutants.
abstract: The specificity of the enhancement in lung defences after local immunization of mice with three temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated. The three selected mutants display altered growth characteristics when transferred from 29 degrees C to mammalian body temperature. Mice immunized with the live ts mutants by aerosol exposure or multiple intranasal inoculations were challenged with aerosols containing wild-type (wt) P. aeruginosa. Aerosol immunization with ts mutant A/10/25 significantly enhanced the lung clearance of the wt but did not enhance the clearance of either Klebsiella pneumoniae or Staphylococcus aureus. Aerosol immunization with ts mutants D/1/8 or E/9/9 enhanced the lung defences against the parental wt (of identical immunotype 1) but not against immunotype 4; similarly, intranasal immunization enhanced the lung defences against the parental wt but not against immunotypes 4 or 5. We conclude that local immunization with ts mutants of P. aeruginosa enhances lung defences against the wt in a genus- and immunotype-specific fashion. It is suggested that local immunity may play a central role in immunoprophylaxis against P. aeruginosa lung infection.
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000336:Aerosols; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007114:Immunization; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D009154:Mutation; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G