Impaired bacterial binding to peritoneal exudate cells from mice with alloxan induced diabetes.

Mice made diabetic by treatment with alloxan showed increased susceptibility to intraperitoneal injection of a rough strain of Salmonella typhimurium (SL 1099) expressing glucose as the terminal sugar of its core lipopolysaccharide. Peritoneal exudate cells from mice with alloxan induced diabetes were compared with those from control mice for binding and uptake of S. typhimurium. Cells from the diabetic mice bound fewer bacteria than those of non-diabetic mice. The implications of these findings are considered in relation to bacterial pathogenicity in diabetes.