Biology ETDs

Publication Date

7-28-1976

Abstract

It has been thought for many years that the alveolar macrophage is the primary agent responsible for prevention or bacterial invasion or the lung. Numerous studies with Staphylococcus aureua, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli. Klebsiella, and Proteus have been cited to substantiate this statement. Together these organisms cause less than ten per cent of human bacterial pneumonias. Both in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that the alveolar macrophage is capable of bacterial clearance with time. Sadly lacking ss evidence that alveolar macrophages readily phagocytose Streptococcus pneumoniae which are responsible tor greater than ninety percent of all bacterial pneumonias. The importance or such a study is that the pneumococci cause over ninety per cent of bacterial pneumonias and cause the largest mortality or pneumonias due to any cause. Bacterial pneumonia is one or the top ten causes or death in the United States today and is the leading cause of death due to infectious disease. Pneumococcal pneuaonia is a common disease with 150,000 to 300,000 cases per year in the United States and has a ten per cent mortality rate despite antibiotic therapy.

I utilized an in vitro method to study alveolar macrophage phagocytosis. This method consists or allowing a glass adherent population of alveolar macropiages to phagocytoae bacteria suspended in a liquid growth medium which is washing over the macrophages. The disappearance of bacteria from the liquid washing over the macrophages is defined as phagocytosis. This method gave results of Staphylococcus aureus phagocytosis comparable with other investigations. Since this method gave Staphylococcus aureus phagocytosis comparable to other investigations, it was decided to test several serotypes of pneumococci and compare alveolar macrophage phagocytic function against that of polymorphonuclear leucocytes with the same organism.

This study found:

1. Polymorphonuclear leucocytes were superior to alveolar macrophages in the phagocytosis of the same organism, Staphylococcus aureus 502A.

2. Alveolar macrophages of both man ani rabbits failed to phagocytose any of the pneumococcal strains with which they were challenged.

3. Polymorphonuclear leucocytes phagocytosed Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 22, 29 and 41 which the alveolar macrophages had failed to phagocytose.

4. Alveolar macrophages and polymorphonuclear leucocytes of both man and rabbits failed to phagocytose Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 1, a leading cause of human bacterial pneumonia.

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Microbiology

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

UNM Biology Department

First Committee Member (Chair)

Sei Tokuda

Second Committee Member

Darwin Lynn Palmer

Third Committee Member

Illegible

Fourth Committee Member

John August Ulrich

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