Penicillin enhances the toll-like receptor 2-mediated proinflammatory activity of Streptococcus pneumoniae

The Streptococcus pneumoniae cell-wall components peptidoglycan and lipoteichoic acid activate Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), which transduces an inflammatory response. After exposure to penicillin, type 2 S. pneumoniae strain D39, but not the isogenic autolysin-deficient mutant AL2, induced significantly enhanced interleukin-8 promoter activity in TLR2-transfected HeLa cells. Lag-phase D39 exhibited enhanced TLR2 activation after exposure to penicillin at levels below the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC); in contrast, early log-phase S. pneumoniae were most active when exposed to the MIC. This enhancement was not ablated by heat treatment but was attenuated by autolysin inhibitors. The antimicrobial activity of moxifloxacin and erythromycin was not associated with TLR2 activation by S. pneumoniae. These data show that penicillin treatment of S. pneumoniae releases proinflammatory cell-wall components that activate TLR2 and that this activity is dependent on autolysin, the growth phase of the organism, and the antibiotic concentration.

Anti-Infective Agents, Aza Compounds, Choline, Colony Count, Microbial, Enzyme Inhibitors, Erythromycin, Ethanolamine, Fluoroquinolones, HeLa Cells, Humans, Interleukin-8, Membrane Glycoproteins, N-Acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine Amidase, Penicillins, Pneumococcal Infections, Quinolines, Receptors, Cell Surface, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Toll-Like Receptor 2, Toll-Like Receptors, Transfection, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

10.1086/378238

0022-1899

1040-1048

Moore, Lisa J.

13095db5-12ee-47f4-ae09-b1deca4881d3

Pridmore, Alison C.

b704c202-afcc-4fde-9169-48e51f9fa0b0

Dower, Steven K.

c59b6ed1-57d4-49cb-815c-038a96601ecc

Read, Robert C.

b5caca7b-0063-438a-b703-7ecbb6fc2b51

1 October 2003

Moore, Lisa J.

13095db5-12ee-47f4-ae09-b1deca4881d3

Pridmore, Alison C.

b704c202-afcc-4fde-9169-48e51f9fa0b0

Dower, Steven K.

c59b6ed1-57d4-49cb-815c-038a96601ecc

Read, Robert C.

b5caca7b-0063-438a-b703-7ecbb6fc2b51

Moore, Lisa J., Pridmore, Alison C., Dower, Steven K. and Read, Robert C. (2003) Penicillin enhances the toll-like receptor 2-mediated proinflammatory activity of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 188 (7), 1040-1048. (doi:10.1086/378238).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Full text not available from this repository.

More information

Published date: 1 October 2003

Keywords: Anti-Infective Agents, Aza Compounds, Choline, Colony Count, Microbial, Enzyme Inhibitors, Erythromycin, Ethanolamine, Fluoroquinolones, HeLa Cells, Humans, Interleukin-8, Membrane Glycoproteins, N-Acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine Amidase, Penicillins, Pneumococcal Infections, Quinolines, Receptors, Cell Surface, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Toll-Like Receptor 2, Toll-Like Receptors, Transfection, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Learn more about Institute for Life Sciences research