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Infection and Immunity, January 2002, p. 315-322, Vol. 70, No. 1
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.1.315-322.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Cytotoxic Activities of Leptospira interrogans Hemolysin SphH as a Pore-Forming Protein on Mammalian Cells

Seoung Hoon Lee,1 Sangduk Kim,2 Seung Chul Park,1 and Min Ja Kim1*

Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine,1 Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul 136-705, Republic of Korea2

Received 25 June 2001/ Returned for modification 21 August 2001/ Accepted 25 September 2001

Leptospirosis is a spirochetal zoonosis that causes an acute febrile systemic illness in humans. Leptospira sp. hemolysins have been shown to be virulence factors for the pathogenesis of leptospirosis. Previously, we cloned a hemolysin SphH of Leptospira interrogans serovar lai, a homologue of L. borgpetersenii sphingomyelinase (SphA), from a genomic library (S. H. Lee, K. A. Kim, Y. K. Kim, I. W. Seong, M. J. Kim, and Y. J. Lee, Gene 254:19–28, 2000). Escherichia coli lysate harboring the sphH showed high hemolytic activities on sheep erythrocytes. However, it neither showed sphingomyelinase nor phospholipase activities, in contrast to SphA which was known to have sphingomyelinase activity. Interestingly, the SphH-mediated hemolysis on erythrocytes was osmotically protected by PEG 5000, suggesting that the SphH might have caused pore formation on the erythrocyte membrane. In the present study, we have prepared the Leptospira hemolysin SphH and investigated its hemolytic and cytotoxic activities on mammalian cells. SphH was shown to be a pore-forming protein on several mammalian cells: When treated with the SphH, the sheep erythrocyte membranes formed pores, which were morphologically confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the SphH-mediated cytotoxicities on mammalian cells were demonstrated by the release of LDH and by inverted microscopic examinations. Finally, the immune serum against the full-length hemolysin could effectively neutralize the SphH-mediated hemolytic and cytotoxic activities. In conclusion, these results suggest that the virulence of Leptospira SphH was due to the pore formation on mammalian cell membranes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, #126-1, Anam-Dong, 5th St., Sungbuk-Gu, Seoul 136-705, Republic of Korea. Phone: 82-2-920-5685. Fax: 82-2-920-5616. E-mail: macropha{at}chollian.net.

Editor: J. D. Clements

Infection and Immunity, January 2002, p. 315-322, Vol. 70, No. 1
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.70.1.315-322.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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