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 Burns, V. C. Articles by Harvill, E. T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Burns, V. C. Articles by Harvill, E. T.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, January 2003, p. 86-94, Vol. 71, No. 1
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.1.86-94.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Role of Bordetella O Antigen in Respiratory Tract Infection

Department of Veterinary Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania,¹ Centre for Veterinary Science, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 OES, United Kingdom²

Received 3 July 2002/ Returned for modification 27 August 2002/ Accepted 16 October 2002

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), as the major surface molecule of gram-negative bacteria, interacts with the host in complex ways, both inducing and protecting against aspects of inflammatory and adaptive immunity. The membrane-distal repeated carbohydrate structure of LPS, the O antigen, can prevent antibody functions and may vary as a mechanism of immune evasion. Genes of the wbm locus are required for the assembly of O antigen on the animal pathogen Bordetella bronchiseptica and the human pathogen B. parapertussis. However, the important human pathogen B. pertussis lacks these genes and a number of in vitro and in vivo characteristics associated with O antigen in other organisms. To determine the specific functions of O antigen in these closely related Bordetella subspecies, we compared wbm deletion (wbm) mutants of B. bronchiseptica and B. parapertussis in a variety of assays relevant to natural respiratory tract infection. Complement was not activated or depleted by wild-type bordetellae expressing O antigen, but both wbm mutants activated complement and were highly sensitive to complement-mediated killing in vitro. Although the O-antigen structures appear to be substantially similar, the two mutants differed strikingly in their defects within the respiratory tract. The B. parapertussis wbm mutant was severely defective in colonization of the tracheas and lungs of mice, while the B. bronchiseptica wbm mutant showed almost no defect. While in vitro characteristics such as serum resistance may be attributable to O antigen directly, the role of O antigen during infection appears to be more complex, possibly involving factors differing among the closely related bordetellae or different interactions between each one and its host.

Editor: D. L. Burns

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Goebel, E. M., Wolfe, D. N., Elder, K., Stibitz, S., Harvill, E. T. (2008). O Antigen Protects Bordetella parapertussis from Complement. Infect. Immun. 76: 1774-1780 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wolfe, D. N., Goebel, E. M., Bjornstad, O. N., Restif, O., Harvill, E. T. (2007). The O Antigen Enables Bordetella parapertussis To Avoid Bordetella pertussis-Induced Immunity. Infect. Immun. 75: 4972-4979 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Preston, A., Petersen, B. O., Duus, J. O., Kubler-Kielb, J., Ben-Menachem, G., Li, J., Vinogradov, E. (2006). Complete Structures of Bordetella bronchiseptica and Bordetella parapertussis Lipopolysaccharides. J. Biol. Chem. 281: 18135-18144 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Pilione, M. R., Harvill, E. T. (2006). The Bordetella bronchiseptica Type III Secretion System Inhibits Gamma Interferon Production That Is Required for Efficient Antibody-Mediated Bacterial Clearance. Infect. Immun. 74: 1043-1049 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Inatsuka, C. S., Julio, S. M., Cotter, P. A. (2005). Bordetella filamentous hemagglutinin plays a critical role in immunomodulation, suggesting a mechanism for host specificity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 18578-18583 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wolfe, D. N., Kirimanjeswara, G. S., Harvill, E. T. (2005). Clearance of Bordetella parapertussis from the Lower Respiratory Tract Requires Humoral and Cellular Immunity. Infect. Immun. 73: 6508-6513 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Julio, S. M., Cotter, P. A. (2005). Characterization of the Filamentous Hemagglutinin-Like Protein FhaS in Bordetella bronchiseptica. Infect. Immun. 73: 4960-4971 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Mattoo, S., Cherry, J. D. (2005). Molecular Pathogenesis, Epidemiology, and Clinical Manifestations of Respiratory Infections Due to Bordetella pertussis and Other Bordetella Subspecies. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 18: 326-382 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Elder, K. D., Harvill, E. T. (2004). Strain-Dependent Role of BrkA during Bordetella pertussis Infection of the Murine Respiratory Tract. Infect. Immun. 72: 5919-5924 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Pilione, M. R., Pishko, E. J., Preston, A., Maskell, D. J., Harvill, E. T. (2004). pagP Is Required for Resistance to Antibody-Mediated Complement Lysis during Bordetella bronchiseptica Respiratory Infection. Infect. Immun. 72: 2837-2842 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Pishko, E. J., Betting, D. J., Hutter, C. S., Harvill, E. T. (2003). Bordetella pertussis Acquires Resistance to Complement-Mediated Killing In Vivo. Infect. Immun. 71: 4936-4942 [Abstract] [Full Text]