Proteins found within porcine respiratory tract secretions bind lipopolysaccharides of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

Affinity for porcine respiratory tract secretions was found in some isolates of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and involved lipopolysaccharides (LPS) (M. Bélanger, S. Rioux, B. Foiry, and M. Jacques, FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 97:119-126, 1992). In the present study, the affinity for a crude preparation of porcine respiratory tract mucus of isolates of the Pasteurellaceae family, i.e., Actinobacillus, Haemophilus, and Pasteurella spp., and of some unrelated gram-negative bacteria was examined. Affinity for crude porcine respiratory tract mucus was not a property shared by all Pasteurellaceae isolates tested. Furthermore, affinity for the porcine crude mucus preparation was not unique to the Pasteurellaceae group and did not seem to be restricted to bacteria originating from pigs. Different surface properties of A. pleuropneumoniae isolates in relation to their adherence to crude mucus were examined. The capsular layer seemed to mask the adhesin and interfered with adherence to crude mucus. Two poorly capsulated isolates, which had a more hydrophobic surface and bound Congo red, were also heavily labeled by gold particles coated with polymyxin, which is known to interact with the lipid A-core region of LPS, and adhered strongly to respiratory tract secretions. Tetramethylurea, charged polymers, divalent cations, chelators, monosaccharides and amino sugars, or lectins were unable to inhibit adherence of A. pleuropneumoniae to the crude mucus preparation. To identify the receptor(s) recognized by the lipopolysaccharidic adhesin of A. pleuropneumoniae, affinity chromatography was used. Two bands, which were proteinaceous in nature, of 10 and 11 kDa were recovered. Our results suggest that two low-molecular-mass proteins present in porcine respiratory tract secretions bind A. pleuropneumoniae LPS.