title: The role of surfactant protein D in the colonisation of the respiratory tract and onset of bacteraemia during pneumococcal pneumonia.
abstract: We have shown previously that surfactant protein D (SP-D) binds and agglutinates Streptococcus pneumoniae in vitro. In this study, the role of SP-D in innate immunity against S. pneumoniae was investigated in vivo, by comparing the outcome of intranasal infection in surfactant protein D deficient (SP-D-/-) to wildtype mice (SP-D+/+). Deficiency of SP-D was associated with enhanced colonisation and infection of the upper and lower respiratory tract and earlier onset and longer persistence of bacteraemia. Recruitment of neutrophils to inflammatory sites in the lung was similar in both strains mice in the first 24 hrs post-infection, but different by 48 hrs. T cell influx was greatly enhanced in SP-D-/- mice as compared to SP-D+/+ mice. Our data provides evidence that SP-D has a significant role to play in the clearance of pneumococci during the early stages of infection in both pulmonary sites and blood.
authors.affiliation: MRC Immunochemistry Unit, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK. rania.jumblat@lau.edu.lb
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jounblat
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eggleton
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hawgood
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Andrew
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kadioglu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000276:immunology; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011018:Pneumonia, Pneumococcal / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D037663:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein D / Q000276:immunology*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D037663:Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein D