Abstract
To determine the significance of neonatal C9 deficiency, an animal model was developed in the rat. By rocket immunoelectrophoresis, the concentration of C9 in pooled adult rat serum was 224 ± 7.2 μg/mL. In contrast, the concentration of C9 in pooled serum from 1-d-old rats was only 43 ± 3.8 μg/mL and increased during the first 3 wk of life to 170 ± 20μg/mL. Similarly, the capacities of neonatal rat serum to kill two pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli and to lyse sensitized sheep erythrocytes were diminished compared with adult serum but increased during the first 3 wk of life. Supplemental human C9 significantly enhanced the bactericidal and hemolytic activity of neonatal rat serum. The capacity of neonatal rats to survive after the intrapulmonary injection of E. coli was positively correlated with the serum C9 concentration, bactericidal activity, and hemolvtic activity. In 2-d-old rats infected with E. coli, the intraperitoneal administration of human C9 significantly enhanced survival and also enhanced the protective effect of intraperitoneal human IgG antibodies. The data indicate that C9 deficiency predisposed neonatal rats to invasion by E. coli. The neonatal rat appears to be a suitable model with which to investigate the significance of C9 deficiency.
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Abbreviations
- PBS:
-
Dulbecco's PBS, pH 7.4
- PBS+:
-
PBS containing 1 mM MgCl2
- BPBS+:
-
PBS+ containing 0.5% BSA
- VBS:
-
Veronal-buffered saline, pH 8.6, containing 4.18 g/L of sodium barbital and 0.80 g/L of barbital
- MgEGTA:
-
100 mM MgCl2 and 100 mM EGTA
- IVIG:
-
PBS containing IgG antibodies pooled from human plasma
- cfu:
-
colony-forming units
- i.p.:
-
intraperitoneal
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Christopher Bryant, Ph.D., and Armour Pharmaceuticals Company for generously providing the Cohn fraction III used for the purification of human C9.
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Supported by a grant from the Alliant Community Trust Fund, Inc., Louisville, KY.
Presented in part at the 63rd Annual Meeting, Society for Pediatric Research, Seattle, May 1994, the 64th Annual Meeting, Society for Pediatric Research, San Diego, May 1995, and the Annual Meeting of the Southern Society for Pediatric Research, New Orleans, February 1997.
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Lassiter, H., Walz, B., Wilson, J. et al. The Administration of Complement Component C9 Enhances the Survival of Neonatal Rats with Escherichia coli Sepsis. Pediatr Res 42, 128–136 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199707000-00020
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199707000-00020
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