Abstract
When spread as a monolayer on the surface of hydrophobic beads and injected into mice, the mycobacterial glycolipid, trehalose 6,6′-dimycolate, reproduces the biologic effects traditionally associated with virulent mycobacteria, including acute inflammation, granuloma formation, and immune adjuvancy. Repeated intraperitoneal injection of glycolipid-coated beads into young rmC57B1 6 mice elicits a granulomatous peritonitis, with concomitant dissemination of beads from the peritoneum to distant organs. Glycolipid-coated beads which disseminate from the peritoneum to other sites elicit neither acute inflammation nor granulomata. The coagulation system may be involved in the dissemination of glycolipid-coated beads as evidenced by the following: (1) fibrinogen is a necessary cofactor of the trehalose dimycolate monolayer; (2) diffuse peritoneal and pulmonary hemorrhage accompanies bead dissemination; (3) peritoneal exudate collected shortly after intraperitoneal injection of glycolipid-coated beads is enriched in coagulant activity; (4) coagulability of blood from trehalose dimycolate-treated animals is reduced; and (5) anticoagulation inhibits the inflammatory response to glycolipid-coated beads. In this report, the dissemination of trehalose dimycolate-coated beads is characterized, and a role for the coagulation system in this process is proposed.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 190-198 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Experimental and Molecular Pathology |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 1987 |
Funding
This work was supported in part by Grant 1985-86-A-23 from the American Heart Association, North Carolina Affiliate, and by a grant from the Southern Medical Association. The author is a Lucille P. Markey Scholar. He thanks Ruth Mary Retzinger for inspiration.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Molecular Biology
- Clinical Biochemistry