Differences among Shigella spp. in susceptibility to the bactericidal activity of human serum.

Clinical isolates of Shigella spp. were examined for their susceptibility to human serum. The susceptibility of the strains to immune and nonimmune human serum was dependent upon the size of the bacterial inoculum and the concentration of serum. There were differences among Shigella spp. in susceptibility to human serum: S. sonnei strains were the least susceptible, strains of S. boydii and S. flexneri serotype 6 were intermediate, and those of S. flexneri other than serotype 6 and S. dysenteriae were the most susceptible. Experiments in which heat-treated (56 degrees C for 30 min, or 50 degrees C for 20 min) serum was used, and analysis of activation of complement by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from each Shigella sp., suggested that LPS composition, especially the O antigen polysaccharide chains, contributes to the differences among Shigella spp. in susceptibility to human serum.