Host defense mechanisms against pneumonia due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pneumonia due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa is associated with unusually high mortalities. Accordingly, efforts to define better the most important components of lung defenses against this infection are justified as a prelude to defining improved management strategies. In this report, a guinea pig model of experimental aspiration pseudomonas pneumonia was employed for studies of cellular and humoral mechanisms of pulmonary defense. Animals treated with cortisone acetate plus cyclophosphamide experienced decreased survival from pneumonia, and survival rates correlated directly with the degree of myelosuppression. Numbers of pulmonary macrophages and polymorphonuclear neutrophils were reduced in drug-treated animals before impairment of macrophage antibacterial function. Thus, a reduction in numbers of phagocytes alone was sufficient to markedly reduce lung defenses. In additional experiments, normal guinea pigs were vaccinated with a lipopolysaccharide pseudomonas vaccine. Improved survival from pneumonia correlated with high titers of type-specific, heat-stable opsonic antibody. It is concluded that adequate numbers of lung phagocytes, plus type-specific opsonic antibody, represent the ideal status for lung defense against P. aeruginosa infection.