title: Immune response to capsular polysaccharide and surface proteins of Streptococcus pneumoniae in patients with invasive pneumococcal disease.
abstract: The immune response to pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides (CPSs) and to the pneumococcal surface proteins cell wall-associated serine proteinase A (PrtA), pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA), and Streptococcus pneumoniae pullulanase A was evaluated in 45 patients with invasive pneumococcal disease compared with healthy adults. In serum from patients with meningitis and pneumonia, CPS antibody levels were low, compared with healthy adults; antibody levels did not differ between groups and did not change between phases. Levels of immunoglobulin G directed against the investigated pneumococcal surface proteins in patients with invasive pneumococcal disease were in the same range as in healthy adults. However, median PrtA and PspA antibody levels tended to increase during early convalescent phase. Low levels of CPS antibody, rather than of antibodies directed against the pneumococcal surface proteins, may predispose to invasive pneumococcal infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Virology, University of Düsseldorf, Germany. zysk@uni-duesseldorf.de
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zysk
authors.forename: Gesina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bethe
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nau
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Valeska C D H
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Gräfin Von Bassewitz
authors.forename: Hans-Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Heinz
authors.forename: Ralf R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Reinert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D016667:Bacterial Capsules / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008586:Meningitis, Pneumococcal / Q000276:immunology*; D011018:Pneumonia, Pneumococcal / Q000276:immunology*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G