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Effect of leukocyte hydrolases on bacteria

X. The role played by leukocyte factors, cationic polyelectrolytes, and by membrane-damaging agents in the lysis ofStaphylococcus aureus: Relation to chronic inflammatory procesess

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Abstract

A heat-stable factor present in extracts of human blood leukocytes is capable of lysing youngStaphylococcus aureus at pH 5.O. Lysis is characterized by breakdown of cell-wall components as judged by electron microscopic and biochemical analysis. The leukocyte extracts can be replaced by a variety of agents known to injure cell membranes, e.g., leukocyte cationic protein histone, polymyxin B, colimycin, phospholipase A, and lysolecithin. The mechanisms by which all these agents bring about the degradation of the staphylococcal walls was studied. By using14C-labeled cell walls devoid of cytoplasmic structures, it was demonstrated that none of the above-mentioned agents had a direct lytic effect on purified cell walls. On the other hand, when any of these agents first interacted with intact staphylococci, a factor (presumably an autolysin) was generated that directly lysed the cell walls. Lysis of cell walls in the presence of intact staphylococci used as a source of autolysin was strongly inhibited by a variety of anionic polyelectrolytes such as heparine and liquoid. The possible role played by bacterial autolysins in the generation of microbial cell-wall components capable of triggering chronic inflammation is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral Biology, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, Founded by the Alpha Omega Fraternity, Jerusalem, Israel

    Meir Lahav & Isaac Ginsburg

Authors
  1. Meir Lahav
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  2. Isaac Ginsburg
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This study was supported by grants from the Joint Research Fund of the Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, founded by the Alpha Omega Fraternity, and the Hadassah Medical Organization; by grants from the Chief Scientist, the Ministry of Health, Government of Israel; and the Max Bogen Research Fund, obtained through the Friends of the Hebrew University in the United States.

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Lahav, M., Ginsburg, I. Effect of leukocyte hydrolases on bacteria. Inflammation 2, 165–177 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00918678

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