Free Access
Issue
Vet. Res.
Volume 40, Number 4, July-August 2009
Number of page(s) 10
DOI https://doi.org/10.1051/vetres/2009016
Published online 10 April 2009
How to cite this article Vet. Res. (2009) 40:33
How to cite this article: Vet. Res. (2009) 40:33
DOI: 10.1051/vetres/2009016

Porcine CD18 mediates Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae ApxIII species-specific toxicity

Philippe G.A.C. Vanden Bergh, Laurent L.M. Zecchinon, Thomas Fett and Daniel Desmecht

Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Sart Tilman B43, B-4000 Liège, Belgium

Received 19 November 2008; accepted 8 April 2009; published online 10 April 2009

Abstract - Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, the causative agent of porcine pleuropneumonia, produces Apx toxins that are recognized as major virulence factors. Recently, we showed that ApxIIIA-cytotoxic activity specifically targets Sus scrofa leukocytes. Since both LtxA from Aggregatibacter actinomycetem comitans (aggressive periodontitis in humans) and LktA from Mannheimia haemolytica (pneumonia in ruminants) share this characteristic, respectively towards human and ruminant leukocytes, and because both use the CD18 subunit to interact with their respective LFA-1, we hypothesized that ApxIIIA was likely to bind porcine CD18 to exercise its deleterious effects on pig leukocytes. A $\beta_2$-integrin-deficient ApxIIIAresistant human erythroleukemic cell line was transfected either with homologous or heterologous CD11a/ CD18 heterodimers using a set of plasmids coding for human (ApxIIIA-resistant), bovine (-resistant) and porcine (-susceptible) CD11a and CD18 subunits. Cell preparations that switched from ApxIIIA-resistance to -susceptibility were then sought to identify the LFA-1 subunit involved. The results showed that the ApxIIIA-resistant recipient cell line was rendered susceptible only if the CD18 partner within the LFA-1 heterodimer was that of the pig. It is concluded that porcine CD18 is necessary to mediate A. pleuropneumoniae ApxIIIA toxin-induced leukolysis.


Key words: Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae / ApxIIIA / porcine / LFA-1 / CD18

Corresponding author: daniel.desmecht@ulg.ac.be

© INRA, EDP Sciences 2009