Fractionation of Guinea Pig Serum for an Inducer of Gonococcal Resistance to Killing by Human Serum: Active Fractions Containing Glucopeptides Similar to Those from Human Red Blood Cells

• Published in: Journal of general microbiology Vol. 130; no. 11; pp. 2757 - 2766
• Main Authors: Patel, P. V, Veale, D. R, Fox, J. E, Martin, P. M. V, Parsons, N. J, Smith, H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Soc General Microbiol 01.11.1984; New York, NY Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Bactericidal Activity; Chromatography, Gel; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Ion Exchange; Complement System Proteins - immunology; Erythrocytes - analysis; Erythrocytes - immunology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glycopeptides - blood; Glycopeptides - immunology; Guinea Pigs; Humans; Microbiology; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Neisseria gonorrhoeae - immunology; Neisseria gonorrhoeae - pathogenicity; Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains; Ultrafiltration; Human origin; High performance; Fractionation; Induction; Neisseriaceae; Rodentia; Animal origin; Liquid chromatography; Resistance; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Guinea pig; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Glycopeptide; Pathogen strain; Bacteria; Serum; Chemical composition
• ISSN: 0022-1287; 1350-0872; 1465-2080
• DOI: 10.1099/00221287-130-11-2757

1 Department of Microbiology, University of Birmingham. PO Box 363, Birmingham B15 2TT. UK 2 Macromolecular Analysis Service, University of Birmingham. PO Box 363, Birmingham B15 2TT. UK 3 Unitè d'Ecologie bactérienne, Institut Pasteur, 75015, Paris, France ABSTRACT SUMMARY: The resistance of gonococci to complement-mediated killing by serum is important in the pathogenesis of gonorrhoea. Most urethal strains lose this resistance on subculture. The host product(s) which induces the resistance in vivo is therefore fundamental to pathogenesis. Human genital secretions and some sera induced gonococci to serum resistance in vitro. Guinea pig serum was more active than human serum and low molecular weight fractions from it conferred resistance to gonococci in 3 h at 37 °C. Similar active fractions were obtained from human sera. Now guinea pig serum has been further fractionated for the low molecular weight inducer by membrane filtration, gel filtration on Sephadex G25, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a Spherisorb ODS reverse phase column, chromatography on Sephadex LH20 and HPLC with a Partisil SCX cation exchange column. The small yield (less than 1 mg from 400 ml serum) of highly active material was contaminated with breakdown products from the Partisil SCX column and a mixture of compounds. However, analysis indicated the presence of one or more small glucopeptides containing cysteine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glycine, alanine, valine and lysine. Similar glucopeptides are liberated from fresh human red blood cells in slightly hypertonic saline and samples of them induced gonococci to serum resistance.