The Immune System Response to Campylobacter Infection

Abstract

Campylobacter may be one of the most common causes of bacterial gastroenteritis (GE) in children. It has recently been suggested that it is one of the bacterial pathogens most likely to infect immune-compromised children, and it may facilitate colonization of enteric pathogens. The immune system response was studied in 12 children with Campylobacter fetus subspecies jejuni (CBJ) infections. Serum concentrations of IgA, IgM, and IgG were analyzed using a Beckman autoanalyzer. Sera specific Ab to CBJ were tested with CBJ specific enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Mitogen stimulation of lymphocytes was performed to three lectins : Con A, PWM, and PHA. The lymphocyte blast transformation to Campylobacter was studied using the Campylobacter antigen. T-cell subsets were studied using the monoclonal antibodies Leu 2, 3, and 4 (Becton Dickinson). Chemotaxis was measured in modified Boyden chambers; chemotactic stimulants were the Formyl Met Leu Phe, Campylobacter antigen virion, and E. coli 0111 B. Immunoglobulins were normal in nine cases and abnormal in two children previously diagnosed as agammaglobulinemic and one diagnosed as hypoagammaglobulinemic. Specific serum Ab level was significantly higher in the CBJ group, except in the agammaglobulinemic group. Stimulation indices to mitogens and monoclonal subset were in the normal range. The blastogenic transformation to CBJ Ag was decreased compared to normal lectins, and positive and high compared to controls. The chemotactic activity to campylobacter Ag was decreased in comparison to other stimulants. Most CBJ infections are self-limiting due to a normal immune response and collaboration of all cellular limbs. When, however, the immune response is disturbed, we may find a prolonged and complicated course of CBJ.

Immunity to Campylobacter: its role in risk assessment and epidemiology

“…In patients with HIV infection, serum antibody responses to C. jejuni are markedly impaired compared to immunocompetent controls (Perlman et al 1988). Similarly, systemic disease, such as bacteremia, due to Campylobacter species is mainly seen in immunocompromized individuals (Pigrau et al 1997;Schonheyder, Sogaard, and Frederiksen 1995;Melamed et al 1988;Melamed et al 1983). Certainly, antibodies directed against Campylobacter promote bacterial agglutination and complement activation (Jones, Eldridge, and Dale 1980;, have bactericidal activity (Blaser, Smith, and Kohler 1985;Johnson et al 1984;Pennie et al 1986) and may display opsonic activity promoting uptake and killing by professional phagocytes (Walan et al 1992;Bernatowska et al 1989; Bar, Glenn-Calvo, and Krausse 1991).…”

Newborn piglet model for campylobacteriosis

“…The cost associated with rearing and maintaining hosts for model systems is also a determinant factor in choosing a suitable model. The role of specific immunity in Campylobacter infection implies that a third factor, namely, the host defense system, must be taken into consideration when searching for a suitable model system (1,2,25).…”