Capsule and d‐alanylated lipoteichoic acids protect Streptococcus pneumoniae against neutrophil extracellular traps

• Published in: Cellular microbiology Vol. 9; no. 5; pp. 1162 - 1171
• Main Authors: Wartha, Florian, Beiter, Katharina, Albiger, Barbara, Fernebro, Jenny, Zychlinsky, Arturo, Normark, Staffan, Henriques‐Normark, Birgitta
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2007
• Subjects: Alanine - chemistry; Animals; Bacterial Capsules - chemistry; Bacterial Capsules - immunology; Extracellular Space - immunology; Extracellular Space - metabolism; Female; Humans; Immunity, Innate - immunology; Lipopolysaccharides - chemistry; Lipopolysaccharides - immunology; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Mutation - genetics; Neutrophil Activation - immunology; Neutrophils - immunology; Operon - genetics; Streptococcus pneumoniae; Streptococcus pneumoniae - genetics; Streptococcus pneumoniae - immunology; Streptococcus pneumoniae - pathogenicity; Teichoic Acids - chemistry; Teichoic Acids - immunology; Virulence - genetics; Virulence Factors - chemistry; Virulence Factors - genetics; Virulence Factors - immunology
• ISSN: 1462-5814; 1462-5822
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1462-5822.2006.00857.x

Summary Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Pneumococci can counteract the action of neutrophils with an antiphagocytic capsule and through electrochemical repulsion of antimicrobial peptides via addition of positive charge to the surface. Pneumococci are captured, but not killed in neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Here, we study the role of the polysaccharide capsule and lipoteichoic acid (LTA) modification on pneumococcal interaction with NETs. Expression of capsule (serotypes 1, 2, 4 and 9V) significantly reduced trapping by NETs, but was not required for resistance to NET‐mediated killing. Pneumococci contain a dlt operon that mediates the incorporation of d‐alanine residues into LTAs, thereby introducing positive charge. Genetic inactivation of dltA in non‐encapsulated pneumococci rendered the organism sensitive to killing by antimicrobial components present in NETs. However, the encapsulated dltA mutant remained resistant to NET‐mediated killing in vitro. Nevertheless, in a murine model of pneumococcal pneumonia, the encapsulated dltA‐mutant strain was outcompeted by the wild‐type upon invasion into the lungs and bloodstream. This suggests a non‐redundant role for LTA alanylation in pneumococcal virulence at the early stage of invasive disease when capsule expression has been shown to be low.