Kinetic studies of bioactive products nitric oxide and 8-iso-PGF(2alpha) in Burkholderia pseudomallei infected human macrophages, and their role in the intracellular survival of these organisms.

The oxidative response of Burkholderia pseudomallei and Escherichia coli infected macrophages from normal and melioidosis subjects was determined by measuring the production of nitric oxide which is one of the reactive nitrogen intermediates, and the activation state of these macrophages was determined by measuring the generation of 8-iso-PGF(2alpha), a bioactive product of free radical induced lipid peroxidation. Macrophages obtained from the melioidosis patients generated significantly lower levels of nitric oxide and 8-iso-PGF(2alpha) compared to macrophages obtained from the normal subjects (P<0.001). The reduced efficiency of the oxygen dependent microbicidal mechanism in macrophages of melioidosis patients may be one of the survival strategies developed by B. pseudomallei to remain viable intracellularly.