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 Murphy, T. F. Articles by Sethi, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Murphy, T. F. Articles by Sethi, S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, December 2005, p. 8161-8166, Vol. 73, No. 12
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.12.8161-8166.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Antigenic Specificity of the Mucosal Antibody Response to Moraxella catarrhalis in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Division of Infectious Diseases,¹ Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine,² Department of Microbiology, University at Buffalo, State University of New York,³ VA Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo, New York,⁴ Institute for Infectious Diseases,⁵ Department of Pediatrics, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland⁶

Received 15 July 2005/ Returned for modification 16 August 2005/ Accepted 7 September 2005

Moraxella catarrhalis is an important human mucosal pathogen causing otitis media in children and lower respiratory tract infection in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Little is known about the mucosal antibody response to M. catarrhalis in adults with COPD. In this study, 10 pairs of well-characterized sputum supernatant samples from adults with COPD who had acquired and subsequently cleared M. catarrhalis from their respiratory tracts were studied in detail in an effort to begin to elucidate potentially protective immune responses. Flow cytometry analysis was used to study the distribution of immunoglobulin isotypes in paired preacquisition and postclearance sputum samples. The results showed that immunoglobulin A (IgA) is the predominant M. catarrhalis-specific immunoglobulin isotype and that the sputum IgA contains a secretory component, indicating that it is locally produced at the mucosal site. Most patients made new sputum IgA responses to the adhesins UspA1 and Hag, along with the surface protein UspA2. A smaller proportion of patients made new sputum IgA responses to the iron-regulated proteins TbpB and CopB and to lipooligosaccharide. These results have important implications in understanding the mucosal immune response to M. catarrhalis in the setting of COPD and in elucidating the elements of a protective immune response.

Editor: D. L. Burns

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Attia, A. S., Sedillo, J. L., Wang, W., Liu, W., Brautigam, C. A., Winkler, W., Hansen, E. J. (2008). Moraxella catarrhalis Expresses an Unusual Hfq Protein. Infect. Immun. 76: 2520-2530 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Schwingel, J. M, Michael, F. S., Cox, A. D, Masoud, H., Richards, J. C, Campagnari, A. A (2008). A unique glycosyltransferase involved in the initial assembly of Moraxella catarrhalis lipooligosaccharides. Glycobiology 18: 447-455 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Verhaegh, S. J. C., Streefland, A., Dewnarain, J. K., Farrell, D. J., van Belkum, A., Hays, J. P. (2008). Age-related genotypic and phenotypic differences in Moraxella catarrhalis isolates from children and adults presenting with respiratory disease in 2001-2002. Microbiology 154: 1178-1184 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lipski, S. L., Akimana, C., Timpe, J. M., Wooten, R. M., Lafontaine, E. R. (2007). The Moraxella catarrhalis Autotransporter McaP Is a Conserved Surface Protein That Mediates Adherence to Human Epithelial Cells through Its N-Terminal Passenger Domain. Infect. Immun. 75: 314-324 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Attia, A. S., Hansen, E. J. (2006). A Conserved Tetranucleotide Repeat Is Necessary for Wild-Type Expression of the Moraxella catarrhalis UspA2 Protein. J. Bacteriol. 188: 7840-7852 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Tan, T. T., Christensen, J. J., Dziegiel, M. H., Forsgren, A., Riesbeck, K. (2006). Comparison of the Serological Responses to Moraxella catarrhalis Immunoglobulin D-Binding Outer Membrane Protein and the Ubiquitous Surface Proteins A1 and A2. Infect. Immun. 74: 6377-6386 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Trow, T. K. (2006). Clinical Year in Review II: Occupational Lung Disease, Pulmonary Vascular Disease, Bronchiectasis, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Proc Am Thorac Soc 3: 557-560 [Full Text]  
• Papi, A., Bellettato, C. M., Braccioni, F., Romagnoli, M., Casolari, P., Caramori, G., Fabbri, L. M., Johnston, S. L. (2006). Infections and Airway Inflammation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Severe Exacerbations. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 173: 1114-1121 [Abstract] [Full Text]