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Infection and Immunity, March 2003, p. 1481-1490, Vol. 71, No. 3
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.3.1481-1490.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Role of the Brucella suis Lipopolysaccharide O Antigen in Phagosomal Genesis and in Inhibition of Phagosome-Lysosome Fusion in Murine Macrophages

Françoise Porte,* Aroem Naroeni, Safia Ouahrani-Bettache, and Jean-Pierre Liautard

Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U-431, Montpellier, France

Received 12 August 2002/ Returned for modification 22 October 2002/ Accepted 29 November 2002

Brucella species are gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacteria that infect humans and animals. These organisms can survive and replicate within a membrane-bound compartment inside professional and nonprofessional phagocytic cells. Inhibition of phagosome-lysosome fusion has been proposed as a mechanism for intracellular survival in both cell types. However, the molecular mechanisms and the microbial factors involved are poorly understood. Smooth lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Brucella has been reported to be an important virulence factor, although its precise role in pathogenesis is not yet clear. In this study, we show that the LPS O side chain is involved in inhibition of the early fusion between Brucella suis-containing phagosomes and lysosomes in murine macrophages. In contrast, the phagosomes containing rough mutants, which fail to express the O antigen, rapidly fuse with lysosomes. In addition, we show that rough mutants do not enter host cells by using lipid rafts, contrary to smooth strains. Thus, we propose that the LPS O chain might be a major factor that governs the early behavior of bacteria inside macrophages.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: INSERM U-431, Université Montpellier II, C.P. 100, Pl. E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier, France. Phone: (33) 4 67 14 42 38. Fax: (33) 4 67 14 33 38. E-mail: porte{at}crit.univ-montp2.fr.

Editor: D. L. Burns

Infection and Immunity, March 2003, p. 1481-1490, Vol. 71, No. 3
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.3.1481-1490.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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