Serum antipneumococcal antibodies and pneumococcal colonization in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Antibodies to pneumococcus are thought to represent the primary mechanism of naturally acquired resistance to colonization. Here, however, we show that, in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), resistance to pneumococcal colonization is not associated with higher concentrations of serum anti-capsular or -noncapsular antibodies. We compared preacquisition serum antibody concentrations to capsular antigens 6B, 7F, 14, 19F, and 23F from patients with COPD who did and did not acquire pneumococcal respiratory tree colonization over the course of 2 years. Colonized patients did not have lower anti-capsular antibody concentrations than control subjects who did not acquire pneumococcus. We found no difference in functional antibody concentrations between colonized patients and control subjects. Furthermore, colonized patients had significantly higher preacquisition concentration of antibody directed against the whole cell and pneumococcal surface protein A than control subjects. We thus conclude that, in adult patients with COPD, resistance to pneumococcal colonization is unlikely to be determined by higher serum antibody concentrations to pneumococcal antigens.
Malley
Richard
R
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Richard.Malley@childrens.harvard.edu
Lipsitch
Marc
M
Bogaert
Debby
D
Thompson
Claudette M
CM
Hermans
Peter
P
Watkins
A Claire
AC
Sethi
Sanjay
S
Murphy
Timothy F
TF
D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D016667:Bacterial Capsules / Q000276:immunology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C051592:pneumococcal surface protein A