The Journal of Experimental Medicine
Avanti Polar Lipids, Inc.
  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents
Published 4 February 2002. doi:10.1084/jem.20011576
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF, 154K)
Right arrow PPT slides of all figures
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new content in the JEM
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by McCool, T. L.
Right arrow Articles by Weiser, J. N.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by McCool, T. L.
Right arrow Articles by Weiser, J. N.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
© Rockefeller University Press, 0022-1007/2002/2/359/ $5.00
The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Volume 195, Number 3, February 4, 2002 359-365

Brief Definitive Report

The Immune Response to Pneumococcal Proteins during Experimental Human Carriage

Tera L. McCool1, Thomas R. Cate2, Gregory Moy1 and Jeffrey N. Weiser1

1 Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104
2 Respiratory Pathogens Research Unit, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030

Address correspondence to Jeffrey N. Weiser, 402A Johnson Pavilion, Department of Microbiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6076. Phone: 215-573-3511; Fax: 215-898-9557; E-mail: weiser{at}mail.med.upenn.edu

Colonization of the nasopharynx is the initial step in all infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. The antibody response to carriage was examined in an experimental model of human colonization in healthy adults. Asymptomatic colonization was detected in 6/14 subjects and continued for up to 122 d. Susceptibility to carriage did not correlate with total serum immunoglobulin (Ig)G to the homotypic capsular polysaccharide. All of the colonized subjects, in contrast, developed a serum IgG and secretory IgA response to a 22 kD protein, whereas 7 of 8 subjects who did not become colonized had preexisting antibody to this protein. Analysis of the 22 kD protein identified it as the NH2-terminal region of pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA). Our findings provide evidence for the role of antibody to this protein fragment in preventing pneumococcal carriage by humans.

Key Words: Streptococcus pneumoniae • vaccine • carriage • colonization • pneumococcal surface protein A


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:



  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search
TABLE OF CONTENTS