Streptococcus mutans P1 antigen functions as an adhesion factor for binding to salivary pellicle on tooth surfaces. It induces increased antibody titres in patients with Strep. mutans endocarditis. A mutant of Strep. mutans deficient in the function of the gene (spa P) encoding the surface antigen P1, and its isogenic parental strain, were used in a rat endocarditis experiment. Absence of P1 did not decrease adhesion to vegetations determined 1 h after intravenous infection. The number of bacteria recovered from valvular vegetations after 48 h from animals with manifest endocarditis did not differ between the strains. Consequently, the PI antigen appears to be unimportant both for adhesion and virulence in endocarditis caused by Strep. mutans.

To assess the humoral immunological responses at the subclass level in shigellosis, specific antibody responses against Shigella dysenteriae 1 lipopolysaccharide (LPS), S. flexneri Y LPS, invasion plasmid-coded protein antigens (Ipa), and Shiga toxin were analyzed. Antibody responses of 41 patients with S. dysenteriae 1 infection (SDIP) and 15 patients with S. flexneri infection (SFIP) were compared with those of controls (n = 40). The levels of total immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgA, IgM, and albumin in serum and stool samples were analyzed. In addition, total IgA (t-IgA), secretory IgA (s-IgA), and antigen-specific s-IgA in fecal samples were analyzed to evaluate the specificities and magnitudes of the mucosal immune responses. By comparing the relative increases in optical density for each IgG subclass separately, it was determined that the anti-LPS (homologous) response initially increased in the order IgG2 > IgG1 > IgG3 > IgG4 and that this order changed to IgG2 > IgG3 > IgG1 > IgG4 later in the disease. The IgG subclass response against protein antigens initially showed the order IgG1 > IgG3 > IgG2 > IgG4, which changed to IgG3 > IgG1 > IgG2 > IgG4 later In the disease. A significant increase in the proportion of IgA2 among t-IgA compared with that in controls was seen in both SDIP and SFIP, while significant changes in the proportions of IgG1 and IgG2 among t-IgG compared with controls was seen only in SDIP, The anti-LPS IgA2 response was more prominent in SDIP than in SFIP. We found an early peak of antigen-specific s-IgA in fecal samples, with a shorter duration than the corresponding response in serum samples. The simultaneous increase of serum IgA, fecal t-IgA, and s-IgA in SDIP compared with those in SFIP suggests that there is a massive increase in the local IgA production, giving an increase in systemic IgA concomitant with an extensive gut mucosal inflammation leading to an increased loss of albumin, IgG, and IgA with a high ratio of t-IgA to s-IgA.

Endocytosed Shiga toxin is transported from the Golgi complex to the endoplasmic reticulum in butyric acid-treated A431 cells. We here examine the extent of this retrograde transport and its regulation. The short B fragment of Shiga toxin is sufficient for transport to the ER. The B fragment of cholera toxin, which also binds to glycolipids, is transported to all the Golgi cisterns, but cannot be localized in the ER even after butyric acid treatment. Under all conditions the toxic protein ricin was found predominantly in the trans-Golgi network. There is no transport of endocytosed fluid to the Golgi apparatus or to the ER even after butyric acid treatment and in the presence of Shiga toxin, indicating that transport to the ER, through the trans-Golgi network and the cisterns of the Golgi apparatus, involves several sorting stations. Since Shiga toxin receptors (Gb3) in butyric acid-treated A431 cells seem to have a ceramide moiety with longer fatty acids than in untreated cells, the possibility exists that fatty acid composition of the receptor is important for sorting to the ER. Both retrograde transport and intoxication with Shiga toxin can also be induced by cAMP, supporting the idea that retrograde transport from the Golgi to the ER is required for intoxication. The data suggest that transport to the ER in cells in situ may depend on fatty acid composition and is regulated by physiological signals.

Shigella flexneri vaccine strain (SFL124) given orally, evokes humoral immune response in human volunteers. Such a strain, expressing antigenic epitope of B subunit of Shiga toxin, would also provide immunity to the toxin produced by some species of Shigella. A synthetic oligonucleotide, specifying an epitope [13–26 amino acids (aa)]of the B subunit of Shiga toxin, was inserted into the lamB gene of Escherichia coli and expressed in the S. flexneri vaccine strain. The chimeric LamB protein functioned normally and the epitope was expressed at the surface of the bacteria. The animals immunized with the live bacteria, expressing the epitope or sonicated lysates, showed a humoral response that was specific to the peptide (13–26 aa) and to the whole B subunit molecule. The elicited antisera neutralized the toxin activity on HeLa cells up to 40%, while the purified IgG fractions from the sera gave 90% neutralization.

The glycolipid-binding cytotoxin produced by Shigella dysenteriae 1, Shiga toxin, binds to MDCK cells (strain 1) only after treatment with short-chain fatty acids like butyric acid or with the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate. The induced binding sites were found to be functional with respect to endocytosis and translocation of toxin to the cytosol. Glycolipids that bind Shiga toxin appeared at both the apical and the basolateral surface of polarized MDCK cells grown on filters, and Shiga toxin was found to be endocytosed from both sides of the cells. This was demonstrated by EM of cells incubated with Shiga-HRP and by subcellular fractionation of cells incubated with 125I-labeled Shiga toxin. The data indicated that toxin molecules are endocytosed from coated pits, and that some internalized Shiga toxin is transported to the Golgi apparatus. Fractionation of polarized cells incubated with 125I-Shiga toxin showed that the transport of toxin to the Golgi apparatus was equally efficient from both poles of the cells. After 1-h incubation at 37 degrees C approximately 10% of the internalized toxin was found in the Golgi fractions. The results thus suggest that glycolipids can be efficiently transported to the Golgi apparatus from both sides of polarized MDCK cell monolayers.

A simple and rapid method for Shiga toxin purification based on specific binding to the Gal alpha 1----4Gal beta 1----4Glc globotrioside trisaccharide covalently linked to polyacryl/polyvinyl (Fractogel) has been developed. A cell-free sonicate-filtrate of Shigella dysenteriae type 1, strain 114Sd was passed over the globotrioside-Fractogel column, and bound toxin eluted with 6 M guanidine-HCl. A yield of 36 mg pure toxin/1 sonicate-filtrate was obtained, i.e. a one step 1224-fold purification. The recovery of biologically active toxin was 87%. The toxin was purified to homogeneity as shown by native PAGE and SDS-PAGE.

Two species of Propionibacterium were analysed regarding their binding to glycosphingolipids. Bacteria were labeled with 125I and selective interaction with glycolipids on thin-layer chromatograms was revealed by autoradiography. The carbohydrate site in common for active molecular species appeared to be lactose. The two bacteria differed, however, in the overall binding pattern on the chromatogram, probably due to recognition of separate epitopes on lactose. P. freudenreichii bound only to lactosylceramide while P. granulosum also recognized substituted lactosylceramide: Gal alpha 1----3Gal beta 1----4Glc beta Cer, GlcNAc beta 1----3Gal beta 1----4Glc beta Cer and Gal beta 1----3GlcNAc beta 1----3Gal beta 1----4Glc beta Cer were active, but Gal-alpha 1----4Gal beta 1----4Glc beta Cer was inactive. Also, there was an interesting dependence on ceramide structure in the case of lactosylceramide. P. freudenreichii bound to lactosylceramide with sphingosine and non-hydroxy fatty acids but not to species with sphingosine and 2-hydroxy fatty acids, phytosphingosine and non-hydroxy fatty acids or phytosphingosine and 2-hydroxy fatty acids. For P. granulosum the situation was reversed. This may be explained by an influence of ceramide structure on the presentation of the two lactose epitopes at the assay surface. These results were supported by curves from the binding of labeled bacteria to glycolipids coated in microtiter wells and in part by binding to glycolipid-coated chicken erythrocytes.