Neutrophil activation may play an important role in the pathogenesis of respiratory disease in Burkholderia cepacia-colonized cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. As bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are potent immunostimulatory molecules, we investigated the role of B. cepacia LPS in neutrophil activation processes. LPS extracted from a highly transmissible and virulent strain of B. cepacia (J2315) was found to increase neutrophil surface expression of the beta2 integrin, complement receptor 3, and to prime neutrophil respiratory burst responses to the neutrophil-activating agent fMet-Leu-Phe. By contrast, LPS extracted from a nonmucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain isolated from a patient with CF showed little or no priming activity. As B. cepacia is currently being developed as a biocontrol agent for large-scale agricultural release, we compared LPS molecules from a range of bacterial strains for their proinflammatory ability. Priming activity was demonstrated in LPS extracts from all B. cepacia strains tested, with one environmental strain, J2552, showing the highest activity. These findings indicate (i) that B. cepacia LPS may contribute to the inflammatory nature of B. cepacia infection in CF patients, both by promoting increased neutrophil recruitment and by priming neutrophil respiratory burst responses, and (ii) that environmental strains of B. cepacia may have considerable inflammatory potential in susceptible individuals.
Burkholderia cepacia Cystic Fibrosis