Involvement of protein kinase C and tyrosin kinase in tumoricidal activation of macrophage induced by Streptococcus pneumoniae type II capsular polysaccharide.

Capsular polysaccharide type 2 (PS) from Streptococcus pnemoniae induced the secretory and cellular macrophage response. However, the exact mechanism by which PS regulates the macrophage functions remains unclear. In this study, we examined signal molecules which may participate in PS-elicited responses by macrophages. Our data demonstrated that tumoricidal activation of macrophages induced by PS was inhibited by either protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, H7 or protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor, genistein. In addition, these inhibitors blocked the production of TNF-alpha and NO in PS-stimulated macrophages. Furthermore, PS-induced cell activation is possibly mediated by Toll-like receptor 2. These data suggest that PKC and PTK are involved in the activation of macrophages with PS.