Oral Immunization in Experimental Salmonellosis III. Behavior of Virulent and Temperature-Sensitive Mutant Strains in the Intestinal Tissues of Rats

Intestinal colonization and virulence of Salmonella in mice

Within 3 h after oral challenge of mice with Salmonella typhimurium, foci of infection developed in the Peyer's patches of the small intestine. The numbers of organisms in the cecum, although in excess of those found in the small intestine, were not firmly associated with the cecal wall but were present largely in the cecum's contents. The Peyer's patches at first were remarkably incapable of eliminating even small numbers of Salmonella, but at about 7 days after infection developed the ability to eliminate a less virulent strain of S. typhimurium. Selected strains of Salmonella of varied virulence, and hybrid Escherichia coli/Salmonella typhimurium with varied O-antigens, revealed that those of low virulence could multiply within the intestinal Peyer's patches at nearly the same rate as a virulent strain, and the ability to multiply within the Peyer's patches was not dependent upon O-antigen type or smooth lipopolysaccharide. The ability of these strains to adhere to intestinal mucosa in vitro did not reflect on their ability to colonize the Peyer's patches, although strains of high in vitro adhesive ability appeared in greater numbers initially after oral challenge. Anti-O serum, ineffective in reducing the in vitro adhesive ability of virulent S. typhimurium, when given with the oral challenge prevented Peyer's patch colonization but was unable to prevent the appearance of a systemic infection. Anti-H serum, although effective in vitro in preventing adherence, had no effect in vivo. These experiments suggest that adhesiveness is neither essential nor sufficient for the virulence of Salmonella and that the usual development of a systemic infection after colonization of the small intestinal Peyer's patches may be subverted by the presence of O-antibody.

A study of the efficacy of typhoid vaccine in inducing humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in human volunteers

The nature of protective immunity against typhoid fever in man is not at present well understood. Work on animal models and earlier studies from this laboratory indicate an important protective role for cellular immunity. The present work attempts to study the efficacy of the conventional typhoid vaccine in inducing specific cellular and humoral immune responses. The study on fifty-eight new army recruits and thirty-one civilian volunteers showed adequate humoral responses after vaccination. However, vaccination failed to induce a significant cellular immune response. In addition, a transient suppression of cellular immunity was observed in the immediate post-vaccination period in ten subjects who possessed natural cellular immunity before vaccination. These findings indicate the need for improving the typhoid vaccine so that it will induce cellular immunity as well as a humoral response. It also points to the necessity for obtaining detailed knowledge of the post-vaccination anergy as it could be important in timing public health programmes.

Contribution to the study of live streptomycin-dependent Salmonella vaccines: the problem of reversion to a virulent form

The recovery of virulence by means of reversion of a live streptomycin-dependent (Sm D) Salmonella typhimurium vaccine was studied in CD-1 Swiss mice. Initially, a one-step Sm D mutant was obtained from a virulent streptomycin-sensitive (Sm S) S. typhimurium strain. Afterwards, two pools of streptomycin-independent (Sm I) revertants were prepared from the Sm D strain. The virulence of the Sm D strain and of the Sm I revertants was tested intraperitoneally. In the virulence testing the original suspension of the Sm I revertants, as well as their 1st and 10th passages on plain medium, medium+50 mug. streptomycin/ml. and medium+1000 mug. streptomycin/ml. were used. The results show that the Sm D mutant was avirulent, its avirulence being due to an intrinsic, genetic quality. The Sm I revertants, compared to the original Sm S strain, also displayed a lack of virulence. However, afterwards, the Sm I revertants behaved quite differently, according to their subsequent passages. Indeed, there was an increase in virulence after passages on plain medium, whereas similar passages on medium containing the drug, the virulence not only failed to increase, but disappeared almost completely. Moreover, the passages on medium containing 1000 mug. streptomycin/ml. induced a return to the status of drug-dependence. The danger of recovery of virulence by means of revertants is evaluated.

Immunological study of typhoid: immunoglobulins, C3, antibodies, and leukocyte migration inhibition in patients with typhoid fever and TAB-vaccinated individuals

The development of humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to Salmonella typhi antigens and immunoglobulin and C(3) levels were determined in patients suffering from typhoid fever, TAB-vaccinated individuals, and appropriate controls. In 45 patients with typhoid, a significant elevation of immunoglobulin M (IgM) level was noted from the first week of illness onwards. Eighteen TAB-vaccinated persons also showed a significant elevation of IgM levels. In typhoid sera, the anti-O and anti-H antibodies were mostly 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) sensitive. The rise of IgM level correlated well with the 2-ME-sensitive anti-O and anti-H antibodies seen in typhoid patients. The anti-O antibodies in the TAB-vaccinated group were almost entirely 2-ME sensitive, but both 2-ME-sensitive and -resistant anti-H antibodies were detected in the TAB group. A marked increas in C(3) level was also noted in patients with typhoid. The cell-mediated immunity (CMI), as measured by leukocyte migration inhibition tests, was demonstrable in 15 of 22 patients with typhoid. On the other hand, only 8 of the 20 normal subjects, 5 of the 16 fever control cases, and 6 of the 18 TAB-vaccinated individuals gave a positive CMI. The latter three groups were comparable with each other but were significantly different from the typhoid patients. It was concluded that TAB-vaccination did not induce CMI even though it induced the development of antibodies, the latter being comparable with those of the patients with typhoid. The significance of these findings is discussed.

Polyarthritis associated with Salmonella infection in rats

Rats infected intravenously with Salmonella enteritidis develop a chronic destructive polyarthritis. The joint lesions resemble those of human rheumatoid arthritis in distribution and pathology. On the basis of histological and microbiological studies, involvement does not appear to be the result of intra-articular sepsis. Instead, the data favor the view that transient infection incites an immunological response that localizes in the joint and becomes destructive.

Comparative dynamics of salmonella infection after primary and secondary challenge of mice exposed to 10 and 23 C

Mortality of mice increased significantly as a result of cold exposure when the animals were challenged orally with Salmonella typhimurium, strain RIA. As reported earlier, cold exposure alone did not kill control animals nor did oral challenge at room temperature. No differences were apparent in the number of Salmonella per gram of liver-spleen, colon, or lung between groups of infected mice housed at 23 and 10 C. The number of bacteria increased equally in liver-spleen samples during the period of increasing mortality in the group housed at 10 C and the period of overt illness in those housed at 23 C. The ability to clear the bloodstream of a secondary intravenous challenge did not seem to be impaired by cold exposure. The bacterial load in the spleen and the rate of change in weight of that organ was equal in animals given a secondary challenge at 10 or 23 C. However, the absolute spleen weight was less in the cold-exposed group as was survival when the secondary challenge was administered 3 days after the primary oral challenge. The studies indicate that endotoxin from S. typhimurium may sensitize mice to the lethal effects of cold exposure. The increase in mortality observed in cold-exposed, infected mice is not due to greater bacterial proliferation in these animals. Rather, the combined stress effects of the bacterial agent(s) and cold may link lympholytic effects to impaired detoxification and increased energy demands, which often leads to lethal vascular collapse in cold-exposed, infected mice.

Common antigenic determinant in a rumen organism and in salmonellae containing the antigen O4

Nineteen of 28 strains of rumen organisms isolated from a cow on a high roughage diet and identified morphologically as butyrivibrios, reacted to a low agglutinin titer with salmonella antisera, forming five groups. However only one strain reacted with polyvalent O salmonella antiserum. This strain reacted with O4 factor serum and with antisera to Salmonella strains containing the antigen O4, and agglutinin absorption tests showed the presence of an antigen identical to O4. When 16 further strains of butyrivibrio-like rumen organisms isolated from three cows and one steer were examined, one possessed an antigen similar to but not identical with the antigen O9, and two strains reacted with specific O6,7 factor serum but were not examined further. These four strains were presumptively identified by physiological tests as butyrivibrios. The possible site of antigenic stimulation by such organisms is discussed.

Comparative immunogenicity of heat-killed and living oral Salmonella vaccines

CD-1 mice were vaccinated intragastrically or intramuscularly with one or two doses of 200 mug of heat-killed Salmonella enteritidis 5694. Control mice were vaccinated with sublethal doses of living S. enteritidis Se795. The mice were challenged intragastrically with approximately 10(6)S. enteritidis 5694 SM(R) 7 to 14 days later, and the growth of the challenge population in the liver, spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, lungs, and intestine was measured quantitatively. Mice receiving two doses of heat-killed vaccine by mouth were able to delay the systemic emergence of a gastrically introduced salmonella infection by 1 to 2 days. The corresponding liver and spleen populations were slightly lower than those seen in the normal controls. On the other hand, mice receiving the living, attenuated vaccine (either intravenously or intragastrically) developed an effective anti-salmonella immunity against subsequent reinfection.