This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Maganti, S. Articles by Rodgers, F. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Maganti, S. Articles by Rodgers, F. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infect Immun, February 1998, p. 620-626, Vol. 66, No. 2
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

The Role of Sialic Acid in Opsonin-Dependent and Opsonin-Independent Adhesion of Listeria monocytogenes to Murine Peritoneal Macrophages

Srinivas Maganti, Marcia M. Pierce, Alex Hoffmaster,^§ and Frank G. Rodgers^*

Department of Microbiology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824-2617

Received 11 July 1997/Returned for modification 25 September 1997/Accepted 25 November 1997

The adhesion of listeriae to host cells employs mechanisms which are complex and not well understood. Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen responsible for meningoencephalitis, septicemia, and abortion in susceptible and immunocompromised individuals. Subsequent to colonization and penetration of the gut epithelium, the organism attaches to resident macrophages and replicates intracellularly, thus evading the humoral immune system of the infected host. The focus of these studies was to investigate the attachment of the organism to murine peritoneal macrophages in an opsonin-dependent and opsonin-independent fashion. Assessment of competitive binding experiments by immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays showed that adhesion of the organism to macrophages in the presence or absence of opsonins was inhibited (90%) by N-acetylneuraminic acid (NAcNeu). In addition, the lectin from Maackia amurensis, with affinity for NAcNeu-(2,3)galactose, blocked binding of L. monocytogenes to host cells. Oxidation of the surface carbohydrates on the organism by using sodium metaperiodate resulted in a dose-dependent reduction (up to 98%) in adherence to macrophages. Monoclonal antibody to complement receptor 3 did not prevent listeriae from binding to mouse macrophages or from replicating within the infected cells whether or not normal mouse serum was present. Based on our results, we propose the involvement of NAcNeu, a member of the sialic acid group, in the attachment of L. monocytogenes to permissive murine macrophages.

---

^* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Rudman Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824-2617. Phone: (603) 862-2367. Fax: (603) 862-2359. E-mail: fgr{at}christa.unh.edu.

Scientific contribution no. 1942 of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station.

Present address: Department of Biology, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475.

^§ Present address: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Medical School, University of Texas at Houston, Houston TX 77030.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Pan, X., Ge, J., Li, M., Wu, B., Wang, C., Wang, J., Feng, Y., Yin, Z., Zheng, F., Cheng, G., Sun, W., Ji, H., Hu, D., Shi, P., Feng, X., Hao, X., Dong, R., Hu, F., Tang, J. (2009). The Orphan Response Regulator CovR: a Globally Negative Modulator of Virulence in Streptococcus suis Serotype 2. J. Bacteriol. 191: 2601-2612 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Stamatos, N. M., Curreli, S., Zella, D., Cross, A. S. (2004). Desialylation of glycoconjugates on the surface of monocytes activates the extracellular signal-related kinases ERK 1/2 and results in enhanced production of specific cytokines. J. Leukoc. Biol. 75: 307-313 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Segura, M., Gottschalk, M. (2002). Streptococcus suis Interactions with the Murine Macrophage Cell Line J774: Adhesion and Cytotoxicity. Infect. Immun. 70: 4312-4322 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• GILOT, P., JOSSIN, Y., CONTENT, J. (2000). Cloning, sequencing and characterisation of a Listeria monocytogenes gene encoding a fibronectin-binding protein. J Med Microbiol 49: 887-896 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Garduno, R. A., Garduno, E., Hoffman, P. S. (1998). Surface-Associated Hsp60 Chaperonin of Legionella pneumophila Mediates Invasion in a HeLa Cell Model. Infect. Immun. 66: 4602-4610 [Abstract] [Full Text]