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Infection and Immunity, June 2001, p. 3569-3575, Vol. 69, No. 6
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.6.3569-3575.2001

Pneumolysin-Induced Complement Depletion during Experimental Pneumococcal Bacteremia

Rosemarie B. Alcantara,1,2,dagger Laurel C. Preheim,1,2,3 and Martha J. Gentry-Nielsen1,2,3,*

Veterans Affairs Medical Center,1 Creighton University School of Medicine,2 and University of Nebraska College of Medicine,3 Omaha, Nebraska

Received 23 October 2000/Returned for modification 2 January 2001/Accepted 27 February 2001

To quantify complement depletion by pneumolysin during Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia, cirrhotic and control rats were infected intravenously with one of three isogenic mutant strains of S. pneumoniae expressing different forms of pneumolysin. Outcome measures included clearance of the organisms from the bloodstream, alterations in 50% serum hemolytic complement (CH50) activity and complement C3 levels during infection, and serum opsonic capacity at 18 h postinfection. Cirrhotic rats had significantly lower CH50 and C3 levels than control rats, both before and after infection. However, initial complement levels did not predict bacterial load after 18 h of infection. Changes in CH50 and C3 levels over the 18-h period correlated with numbers of H+C+ but not H+C- or PLY- organisms in the bloodstream at 18 h postinfection. The sera of cirrhotic rats infected with the H+C+ strain had significantly decreased levels of C3 and showed significantly lower opsonizing activity for S. pneumoniae than sera from H+C+-infected control rats. These studies suggest that under limiting concentrations of complement, the expression of pneumolysin by pneumococci has a significant, negative effect on serum complement levels and reduces serum opsonic activity.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Research Service (151), V.A. Medical Center, 4101 Woolworth Ave., Omaha, NE 68105. Phone: (402) 346-8800, ext. 3033. Fax: (402) 449-0604. E-mail: mgentry{at}creighton.edu.

dagger Present address: Louisiana State University Medical Center, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Shreveport, LA 71130-3932.

Infection and Immunity, June 2001, p. 3569-3575, Vol. 69, No. 6
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.6.3569-3575.2001


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