title: Role of the capsular polysaccharide-like serotype-specific antigen in resistance of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans to phagocytosis by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.
abstract: Serotype b-specific polysaccharide antigen (SPA) of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4 consists of D-fucose and L-rhamnose. To clarify the role of SPA in phagocytosis of the organism by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against SPA and SPA-defective mutants, which were constructed by inserting the transposon Tn916 into strain Y4, were used in a chemiluminescence (CL) assay and a phagocytic killing assay. The CL responses of human PMNs to strain Y4 were very low, and the organism was not killed by PMNs. In contrast, SPA-defective mutants induced strong CL responses. The addition of immunoglobulin G MAbs against Y4 SPA enhanced significantly both the CL responses to strain Y4 and the killing of the organism in the presence of complement. The CL responses to SPA-defective mutants were little affected by the addition of these MAbs. We conclude that SPA of A. actinomycetemcomitans plays an important role in the resistance to host defenses by PMNs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry, Kyushu University Faculty of Dentistry, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koga
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D010587:Phagocytosis; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial