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Infection and Immunity, August 2000, p. 4593-4597, Vol. 68, No. 8
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Phase Variation of Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae Lipooligosaccharide during Nasopharyngeal Colonization and Development of Otitis Media in the Chinchilla Model

H. H. Tong, L. E. Blue, M. A. James, Y. P. Chen, and T. F. DeMaria*

Division of Otologic Research, College of Medicine and Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210

Received 10 March 2000/Returned for modification 26 April 2000/Accepted 11 May 2000

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) has four loci, lic-1 to lic-3 and lgtC, that generate phase-variable lipooligosaccharide (LOS) structures. lic-1, which is required for the expression of phosphorylcholine (ChoP), is the best characterized and is associated with an enhanced ability of H. influenzae to persist within the nasopharynges of infant rats. Recent data indicate that LOS impacts various aspects of NTHI virulence in the chinchilla model of nasopharyngeal colonization and otitis media (OM). In this study the effects of ChoP expression and the sequences of lic-1 to lic-3 and lgtC of NTHI strain 2019 were evaluated in the chinchilla OM model. Nasopharyngeal colonization data showed that a switch from the ChoP- to the ChoP+ phenotype was observed as early as day 3 after intranasal inoculation. Chinchillas colonized by strains with the ChoP+ phenotype demonstrated a significantly higher level of NTHI 2019 per milliliter of nasal lavage fluid than chinchillas colonized with predominantly the ChoP- variant (P < 0.05). The concentration of cells with the ChoP+ phenotype in the middle ear was 3 log units higher than that of cells with the ChoP- variant (P < 0.01). There was a statistically significant association between ChoP+ expression in the nasal lavage and the development of OM with culture-positive middle ear fluids in this model. These data suggest that expression of the ChoP+ phenotype promotes enhanced nasopharyngeal colonization and development of OM.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Otologic Research, The Ohio State University, College of Medicine and Public Health, Room 4331 UHC, 456 W. 10th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210. Phone: (614) 293-8103. Fax: (614) 293-5506. E-mail: demaria.2{at}osu.edu.

Infection and Immunity, August 2000, p. 4593-4597, Vol. 68, No. 8
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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