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Infection and Immunity, November 2003, p. 6686, Vol. 71, No. 11
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.11.6686.2003
| LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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Recently published studies have clearly shown that human immune sera efficiently induce leukocyte effector functions towards B. pertussis (6). Bordetella-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA were shown to be capable of inducing phagocytosis, respiratory burst, and bacterial killing (2, 6). It was furthermore shown that B. pertussis is less efficiently cleared from mice deficient for IgG receptors (Fc
R) (3, 4), which suggests that IgG is also crucial for the induction of leukocyte effector functions in vivo. Taken together, these data challenge the conclusion by Kirimanjeswara et al. that Bordetella species that are pathogenic for humans have acquired the capacity to evade humoral immune responses.
We feel that data from studies using the combination of inbred mouse strains and human pathogens should be interpreted with care. Their limited major histocompatibility complex repertoire may preclude the generation of a specific immune response of sufficient diversity, which is required for efficient host defense. Although Kirimanjeswara et al. showed that antibody titers and IgG subclass profiles did not differ between mice infected with murine Bordetella pathogens and those infected with human Bordetella pathogens (5), they did not document antibody specificities. Importantly, recent studies showed that not all Bordetella-specific antibodies trigger phagocyte effector functions; rather, opsonic activity of sera primarily depends on the presence of specific antibody subsets. Only pertactin-specific antibodies in human immune sera displayed opsonic activity and induced phagocytosis by human leukocytes (1). Although it remains to be established which B. bronchiseptica-specific antibodies (pertactin specific or others) display opsonic activity, documenting the specificity in addition to antibody titers in sera from mice seems mandatory for the interpretation of the results obtained by Kirimanjeswara et al. We look forward to sharing this information with them in the near future.
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| 1. | Hellwig, S. M., M. E. Rodriguez, G. A. M. Berbers, J. G. J. van de Winkel, and F. R. Mooi. 2003. Crucial role of pertactin antibodies in Bordetella pertussis immunity. J. Infect. Dis. 188:738-742.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 2. | Hellwig, S. M., A. B. van Spriel, J. Schellekens, F. R. Mooi, and J. G. J. van de Winkel. 2001. IgA-mediated protection against Bordetella pertussis infection. Infect. Immun. 69:4846-4850. |
| 3. | Hellwig, S. M., H. F. van Oirschot, W. L. W. Hazenbos, A. B. van Spriel, F. R. Mooi, and J. G. J. van de Winkel. 2001. Targeting to Fc receptors, but not CR3 (CD11b/CD18), increases clearance of Bordetella pertussis. J. Infect. Dis. 183:871-879.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 4. | Ioan-Facsinay, A., S. J. de Kimpe, S. M. Hellwig, P. L. van Lent, F. M. Hofhuis, H. H. van Ojik, C. Sedlik, S. A. da Silveira, J. Gerber, Y. F. de Jong, R. Roozendaal, L. A. Aarden, W. B. van den Berg, T. Saito, D. Mosser, S. Amigorena, S. Izui, G. J. van Ommen, M. van Vugt, J. G. van de Winkel, and J. S. Verbeek. 2002. Fc RI (CD64) contributes substantially to severity of arthritis, hypersensitivity responses and protection from bacterial infection. Immunity 16:391-402.[CrossRef][Medline] |
| 5. | Kirimanjeswara, G. S., P. B. Mann, and E. T. Harvill. 2003. Role of antibodies in immunity to Bordetella infections. Infect. Immun. 71:1719-1724. |
| 6. | Rodriguez, M. E., S. M. M. Hellwig, D. F. Hozbor, J. Leusen, W.-L. van der Pol, and J. G. J. van de Winkel. 2001. Fc receptor-mediated immunity against Bordetella pertussis. J. Immunol. 167:6545-6551. |
| 7. | Weingart, C. L., and A. A. Weiss. 2000. Bordetella pertussis virulence factors affect phagocytosis by human neutrophils. Infect Immun. 68:1735-1739. |
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María Eugenia Rodriguez1*
CINDEFI School of Science, National University of La Plata, La Plata, Argentina,1
W.-Ludo van der Pol2
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| * Phone: 54 221 4833794, Fax: 54 221 4833794, E-mail: mer{at}quimica.unlp.edu.ar. |
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Girish S. Kirimanjeswara Paul B. Mann Eric T. Harvill* Department of Veterinary Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 115 Henning Building, University Park, PA 16802,3
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| * Phone: (814) 863-8522, Fax: (814) 863-6140, E-mail: eth10{at}psu.edu. |
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