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Basophil Activation Test for Investigation of IgE-Mediated Mechanisms in Drug Hypersensitivity
Published on: September 16, 2011
ON THE MECHANISM OF THE SERUM SENSITIZATION OF ACID-FAST BACTERIA.
The Journal of Experimental Medicine
|October 30, 2009
Summary
Serum sensitization alters acid-fast bacteria surfaces, making them more aqueous-wettable and cohesive. These changes, detected by interface and resuspension reactions, reveal specific differences among bacteria and antibody binding.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Bacteriology
Background:
- Serum sensitization induces observable changes in acid-fast bacterial surfaces.
- These alterations include changes in wettability and increased bacterial cohesiveness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the surface changes in acid-fast bacteria following serum sensitization.
- To investigate the serological specificity and correlation of these changes with antibody binding.
Main Methods:
- Microscopic examination of bacteria at a saline-oil interface to detect surface wettability changes (interface reaction).
- Assessing bacterial cohesiveness through resuspension after centrifugation (resuspension reaction).
- Comparison of interface reaction with agglutination and complement fixation tests.
Main Results:
- Serum sensitization results in a shift from oil-wettable to aqueous-wettable bacterial surfaces.
- Sensitized bacteria exhibit increased cohesiveness, detectable by resuspension and interface reactions.
- The interface reaction demonstrates serological specificity, correlating with agglutinin binding and complement fixation, though with varying sensitivity.
Conclusions:
- The interface reaction is a specific indicator of qualitative differences among acid-fast bacteria.
- Bacterial surface modification by sera, including heat-inactivated sera, affects wettability and cohesiveness.
- Evidence suggests sensitized bacteria are coated with denatured globulin, potentially involving carbohydrate haptenes in antigenicity.
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