Interaction between human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) and bacteria cultivated in aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

A study was performed on one strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli K12D22) and on one strain of Salmonella braenderup (S. braenderup S2828). The physico-chemical surface properties of the bacteria were strongly influenced by oxygen supply, viz. anaerobic growth conditions resulted in increasing of hydrophobicity. Interaction between human polymorphonuclear leukocytes and bacteria, measured as chemiluminescence, was more efficient when bacteria had been cultivated anaerobically than when cultivated aerobically. The results show the importance of the surface hydrophobicity of bacteria in interaction with PMNL, and the role of the growth conditions of bacteria in that process.