Role of lipopolysaccharide and complement in susceptibility of Klebsiella pneumoniae to nonimmune serum |
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Authors: | B Ciurana J M Tomás |
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Affiliation: | Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Spain. |
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Abstract: | The role of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the susceptibility of Klebsiella pneumoniae to serum and the mechanism of complement activation by serum-susceptible (SerS) strains were investigated. The classical and alternative complement pathways are involved in serum killing of susceptible K. pneumoniae strains. The LPS composition seems to play a very important role in the serum bactericidal reaction, while capsular polysaccharide from this bacterium does not play any role. High-molecular-weight LPS from serum-resistant (Serr) K. pneumoniae strains was able to inhibit completely the serum bactericidal activity. LPS from SerS K. pneumoniae strains was not able to inhibit completely the serum bactericidal activity; low-molecular-weight LPS from Serr K. pneumoniae strains could not either. All these findings suggested that LPS composition, especially the O-antigen polysaccharide chains, contributes to the susceptibility of K. pneumoniae strains to complement-mediated serum bactericidal activity. |
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