IOVS The FASEB Journal
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

(Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 2008;49:290-294.)
© 2008 by The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.
DOI:  10.1167/iovs.07-0492
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Green, S. N.
Right arrow Articles by Marquart, M. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Green, S. N.
Right arrow Articles by Marquart, M. E.

Protection from Streptococcus pneumoniae Keratitis by Passive Immunization with Pneumolysin Antiserum

Sherrina N. Green, Melissa Sanders, Quincy C. Moore, III, Erin W. Norcross, Kathryn S. Monds, Armando R. Caballero, Larry S. McDaniel, Sherrina A. Robinson, Chinwendu Onwubiko, Richard J. O’Callaghan, and Mary E. Marquart

From the Department of Microbiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi.

PURPOSE. To determine whether passive immunization with pneumolysin antiserum can reduce corneal damage associated with pneumococcal keratitis.

METHODS. New Zealand White rabbits were intrastromally injected with Streptococcus pneumoniae and then passively immunized with control serum, antiserum against heat-inactivated pneumolysin (HI-PLY), or antiserum against cytotoxin-negative pneumolysin ({psi}PLY). Slit lamp examinations (SLEs) were performed at 24, 36, and 48 hours after infection. An additional four corneas from rabbits passively immunized with antiserum against {psi}PLY were examined up to 14 days after infection. Colony forming units (CFUs) were quantitated from corneas extracted at 20 and 48 hours after infection. Histopathology of rabbit eyes was performed at 48 hours after infection.

RESULTS. SLE scores at 36 and 48 hours after infection were significantly lower in rabbits passively immunized with HI-PLY antiserum than in control rabbits (P ≤ 0.043). SLE scores at 24, 36, and 48 hours after infection were significantly lower in rabbits passively immunized with {psi}PLY antiserum than in control rabbits (P ≤ 0.010). The corneas of passively immunized rabbits that were examined up to 14 days after infection exhibited a sequential decrease in keratitis, with an SLE score average of 2.000 ± 1.586 at 14 days. CFUs recovered from infected corneas were not significantly different between each experimental group and the respective control group at 20 or 48 hours after infection (P ≥ 0.335). Histologic sections showed more corneal edema and polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) infiltration in control rabbits compared with passively immunized rabbits.

CONCLUSIONS. HI-PLY and {psi}PLY both elicit antibodies that provide passive protection against S. pneumoniae keratitis.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2008 by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology