Immunogold labelling of Listeria monocytogenes virulence-related factors within Caco-2 cells.
We demonstrated by immunoelectron microscopy that listeriolysin O (LLO), phospholipases and other putative virulence-related proteins produced by Listeria monocytogenes were primarily cell-wall-associated when the bacterium infected Caco-2 tissue culture cell monolayers. Antibodies made to LLO, serogroup 1/2a reacted poorly with serogroup 4b cells and vice-versa, indicating fundamental structural differences in the two proteins. Finally, comet-tail pseudopod structures shown to be involved in cell-to-cell passage of Listeria in Caco-2 cells did not possess detectable Listeria antigens on their anterior surface or within their structure, suggesting that the phagocytic process is primarily host-cell-dependent once it is initiated by the bacterial cell.
Quinn
F
F
Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
Pine
L
L
White
E
E
George
V
V
Gutekunst
K
K
Swaminathan
B
B
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology*; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000502:physiology; D010740:Phospholipases / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D014774:Virulence
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D006460:Hemolysin Proteins; D010740:Phospholipases; C038705:hlyA protein, Listeria monocytogenes