Interactions of purified Serratia marcescens metalloproteases with fresh human serum and with purified human serum proteins.

Exposure of fresh human serum to two purified metalloproteases of S. marcescens strains SF 178 and SH 186 (both of serotype O6/O14:H12) at 35 degrees C, 3 h, resulted in altered electrophoretic mobility of the protease inhibitors alpha 1-antitrypsin and alpha 2-macroglobulin, alpha 2-HS-glycoprotein, and complement (C) components C1q, C1s, C3a, C3c, C4, C5, and C9, but not C6, C7, C8, and properdin, as determined with electroimmunoassays (Laurell technique). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) documented the partial degradation of the heavy (H) chain of purified human immunoglobulin IgG by the metalloproteases of S. marcescens strains SF 178 and SV O1 (serotype O13/O19:H1), but not by the metalloproteases of strains SH 186 and SE 182 (serotype O9B:H11) following extended incubation (35 degrees C, 22 h). Human IgA and IgM were refractory. Purified human C components, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8, and C9, as well as purified human alpha 1-antitrypsin, alpha 2-macroglobulin, transferrin, and lactoferrin were attacked by the S. marcescens metalloproteases SF 178 and SH 186 at 35 degrees C for 5 h, as demonstrated with the SDS-PAGE procedure; haptoglobin and C-reactive protein were resistant.