Stimulation of phagocytosis and phagosome-lysosome fusion by glycosphingolipids from Sphingomonas paucimobilis.

Sphingomonas paucimobilis, a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, is actively phagocytosed by human peripheral polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) in vitro. However, when live or killed cells were delipidated, the phagocytic rate was clearly decreased. Therefore, we have investigated the physiological role of membrane lipids in phagocytic processes. S. paucimobilis type strain 2395 produces four classes of acidic glycosphingolipids (GL-1, GL-2, GL-3, and GL-4) with the common components of glucuronic acid, 2-hydroxy myristic acid and d18:0 or d21:1 long-chain base. The effect of acidic glycosphingolipids on phagocytosis by PMN using killed Staphylococcus aureus cells coated with glucuronosyl ceramide (GL-1) or ceramide tetrahexoside (GL-4) was also examined. The rate of phagosome-lysosome fusion by PMN was determined by counting acridine orange-stained bacteria under a fluorescence microscope. Both phagocytosis and phagosome-lysosome fusion by PMN of glycosphingolipid-coated bacteria were stimulated markedly in a dose-dependent manner. It was noted that GL-1 or GL-4 stimulated phagosome-lysosome fusion dramatically, but synthetic lipid A did not. Superoxide anion release from PMN was enhanced significantly by the coating with synthetic lipid A at higher concentration, but only slightly with GL-1 or GL-4. Glucuronic acid was an inhibitor of phagocytosis of GL-1-coated S. aureus by PMN. The effect of acidic glycosphingolipids obtained from mammalian tissue on phagocytosis was also compared with that of bacterial glycosphingolipids. Ganglioside GM3 and sulfatide showed a marked stimulative activity for phagocytosis by PMN, while the neutral glycosphingolipids did not. Thus, bacterial acidic glycosphingolipid and mammalian acidic glycosphingolipid promote phagocytosis and phagosome-lysosome fusion by PMN.