| First Author | Shi L | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 199 |
| Issue | 10 | Pages | 1379-90 |
| PubMed ID | 15148336 | Mgi Jnum | J:98124 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3577322 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.20032207 |
| Citation | Shi L, et al. (2004) Mannose-binding lectin-deficient mice are susceptible to infection with Staphylococcus aureus. J Exp Med 199(10):1379-90 |
| abstractText | Gram-positive organisms like Staphylococcus aureus are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Humoral response molecules together with phagocytes play a role in host responses to S. aureus. The mannose-binding lectin (MBL, also known as mannose-binding protein) is an oligomeric serum molecule that recognizes carbohydrates decorating a broad range of infectious agents including S. aureus. Circumstantial evidence in vitro and in vivo suggests that MBL plays a key role in first line host defense. We tested this contention directly in vivo by generating mice that were devoid of all MBL activity. We found that 100% of MBL-null mice died 48 h after exposure to an intravenous inoculation of S. aureus compared with 45% mortality in wild-type mice. Furthermore, we demonstrated that neutrophils and MBL are required to limit intraperitoneal infection with S. aureus. Our study provides direct evidence that MBL plays a key role in restricting the complications associated with S. aureus infection in mice and raises the idea that the MBL gene may act as a disease susceptibility gene against staphylococci infections in humans. |
