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Infect. Immun., 02 1997, 739-749, Vol 65, No. 2
D Islam, B Veress, PK Bardhan, AA Lindberg and B Christensson
Shigella species cause bacillary dysentery in humans by invading epithelial
cells of the colonic mucosa leading to colonic epithelial cell destruction
and inflammation. For further analysis of local gut inflammation,
morphological changes and the potential involvement of mediators in
regulatory mechanisms of cell activation and cell proliferation were
studied immunohistochemically in rectal mucosal biopsies taken from
patients during the acute phase of shigellosis and at convalescence. Rectal
biopsies from 25 Shigella dysenteriae-1 and 10 Shigella flexneri-infected
patients and from 40 controls were studied. The frequencies of
proliferative cells (Ki67-positive cells), p53- immunostaining cells, and
cells coexpressing Ki67 with CD3 or with p53 were analyzed. Immunostaining
for the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and the endothelial NOS was
assessed. In addition, the frequencies of apoptotic cells and CD68+ cells
that engulf apoptotic cells were assessed. By morphological grading, 20% of
the patients had advanced inflammation (grade 3) in the acute phase; mild
inflammation (grade 1) was seen in 37% of the patients at convalescence as
well as in 10% of the controls. The findings in the present study suggest
that in the acute phase of shigellosis inflammation is characterized by
increased cell turnover in the lamina propria (LP) and the epithelium,
increased iNOS expression in the surface epithelium, and apoptosis, which
seems to be associated with LP macrophages. The findings also suggest that
neither p53 nor iNOS are important factors for the induction of apoptosis
in shigellosis. Expression of p53 may be related to early cell activation
in crypt epithelium. Moreover, there is an indication of an active,
low-level inflammatory process at convalescence. The results thus indicate
that Shigella-induced inflammation is associated with a complex series of
cellular reactions in the rectal gut mucosa which persist long after
clinical symptoms have resolved.
Copyright © 1997, American Society for Microbiology
In situ characterization of inflammatory responses in the rectal mucosae of patients with shigellosis
Division of Clinical Bacteriology, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge University Hospital, Sweden.
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