Effect of capsulation of opportunistic pathogenic bacteria on binding of the pattern recognition molecules mannan-binding lectin, L-ficolin, and H-ficolin.

Mannan-binding lectin (MBL), L-ficolin, and H-ficolin are pattern recognition molecules of the innate immune system. We investigated their ability to bind to different serotypes and noncapsulated variants of two gram-positive bacterial species, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. MBL did not bind to capsulated S. aureus or capsulated S. pneumoniae but did bind to a noncapsulated S. aureus variant (Wood). L-ficolin bound to some capsulated S. aureus serotypes (serotypes 1, 8, 9, 11, and 12) and capsulated S. pneumoniae serotypes (11A, 11D, and 11F) but not to noncapsulated strains. H-ficolin did not bind to any of the S. pneumoniae and S. aureus serotypes included in this study but did bind to one strain of Aerococcus viridans. The concentrations of the three proteins in 97 plasma samples were estimated. The median concentrations were 0.8 mug per ml for MBL, 3.3 mug per ml for L-ficolin, and 18.4 mug per ml for H-ficolin.