Characterization of the murine macrophage receptor for group B streptococci

The macrophage has been shown to bind potentially pathogenic bacteria in the absence of serum components or opsonins but the mechanism is poorly understood. The rich array of sugars on the surface of group B streptococci plus the presence of membrane-associated lectin receptors on the macrophage suggests that this is a likely means for bacterial recognition by these host defense cells. Inhibition studies with free sugars and neoglycoconjugates of bovine serum albumin, however, failed to confirm this hypothesis. Furthermore, neuraminidase-treatment to expose galactose residues and the use of isogenic bacterial strains having no capsule or no capsular sialic acid yielded no confirmation of lectin-mediated recognition. The trypsin-sensitive receptor exhibited temperature dependence and a requirement for divalent cations distinct from that reported for the lectin-like galactose receptor. The activity of this streptococcal binding receptor was inhibited by 2-deoxy-D-glucose but not by neutrophil elastase. Pre-exposure of macrophages to bound fibronectin and treatment with phorbol ester each enhanced bacterial binding. These data fail to support a role for the galactose lectin and provide preliminary evidence for involvement of the leukocyte integrins in macrophage recognition of group B streptococci.