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Detection of hypersensitivity toLegionella pneumophila in guinea pigs by skin test

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Abstract

Cross-reacting antigens of three serogroups ofLegionella pneumophila differed serologically and immunologically from the serogroup-specific antigens. Intradermal injection of cross-reacting antigens into sensitized guinea pigs evoked skin hypersensitivity. Animals were sensitized either by injection of inactivatedL. pneumophila in adjuvant or by infection with live organisms. Skin reactions were measurable about 2–4 h after injection and continued to increase in intensity for the first 24 h, followed by a gradual decline over the next 48 h. Histological examination of skin reactions taken from test sites at 48 h revealed infiltration of mononuclear cells in and about the small subcutaneous blood vessels and throughout the dermis, compatible with a delayed-type reaction. The overall appearance and time course of the reaction resembled a combination of immediate and delayed types of hypersensitivity. Each cross-reacting antigen of the three serogroups evoked skin reactions in animals which had been sensitized to any of those serogroups, but was not reactive in nonsensitized animals. These observations indicate the possibility of detecting present or past infection ofL. pneumophila by skin tests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bureau of Laboratories, Center for Disease Control, Public Health Service, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 30333, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    K. H. Wong, P. R. B. McMaster, John C. Feeley, R. J. Arko, W. O. Schalla & F. W. Chandler

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  1. K. H. Wong
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  2. P. R. B. McMaster
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  3. John C. Feeley
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  4. R. J. Arko
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  5. W. O. Schalla
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  6. F. W. Chandler
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Wong, K.H., McMaster, P.R.B., Feeley, J.C. et al. Detection of hypersensitivity toLegionella pneumophila in guinea pigs by skin test. Current Microbiology 4, 105–110 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02602902

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