Suppression of blastogenic transformation of lymphocytes by Bacteroides fragilis in vitro and in vivo.

Bacteroides species and Enterobacteriaceae are known to cause synergistic infections. However, the mechanisms behind this synergy are not completely understood. Several authors have shown that Bacteroides species may inhibit the phagocytosis of Enterobacteriaceae by polymorphonuclear leukocytes as well as by macrophages. With the present study we have addressed the question of whether Bacteroides fragilis (BF) is also capable of suppressing specific immune functions. When incubated together with murine lymphocytes, BF significantly inhibited the blastogenic transformation of these cells stimulated by Escherichia coli-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or concanavalin A. This effect was dose dependent and was not mediated by prostaglandins. Other bacteria such as E. coli or Listeria monocytogenes did not show such an extensive suppression, while Streptococcus pneumoniae was equally active. BF also inhibited the pokeweed mitogen induced blastogenic transformation of human lymphocytes. Moreover, lymphocytes from BF-injected animals obtained 3 to 12 hours after infection proved to be partly refractory for LPS-stimulation. Finally, BF injections also affected T-cell dependent immunity as judged from the aggravation of an experimental listeriosis in mice.