Oxidative and nonoxidative killing of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans by human neutrophils

Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans is a facultative gram-negative microorganism which has been implicated as an etiologic agent in localized juvenile periodontitis and in subacute bacterial endocarditis and abscesses. Although resistant to serum bactericidal action and to oxidant injury mediated by superoxide anion (O2-) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), this organism is sensitive to killing by the myeloperoxidase-hydrogen peroxide-chloride system (K.T. Miyasaki, M.E. Wilson, and R.J. Genco, Infect. Immun. 53:161-165, 1986). In this study, we examined the sensitivity of A. actinomycetemcomitans to killing by intact neutrophils under aerobic conditions, under anaerobic conditions, and under aerobic conditions in the presence of the heme-protein inhibitor sodium cyanide. Intact neutrophils killed opsonized A. actinomycetemcomitans under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, and the kinetics of these reactions indicated that both oxidative and nonoxidative mechanisms were operative. Oxidative mechanisms contributed significantly, and most of the killing attributable to oxidative mechanisms was inhibited by sodium cyanide, which suggested that the myeloperoxidase-hydrogen peroxide-chloride system participated in the oxidative process. We conclude that human neutrophils are capable of killing A. actinomycetemcomitans by both oxygen-dependent and oxygen-independent pathways, and that most oxygen-dependent killing requires myeloperoxidase activity.