Effects of a streptococcal lipoteichoic acid on host responses in mice.

A teichoic acid (TA) extracted from Streptococcus pyogenes 1-RP41 was previously shown to be an immunosuppressant under certain conditions (Miller and Jackson, 1973). The TA has now been shown to be a lipoteichoic acid composed of 40% glycerol, 20% alanine, 13% phosphorus, and 8% glucose, with a variable content of fatty acids. Teh presence of the polyglycerol phosphate backbone and fatty acid was required for maximum immunosuppression of the primary immunoglobulin M response to sheep cells. A complex, nonlinear, time-dependent dosage relationship in suppression of the anti-sheep erythrocyte response in mice was observed. TA depressed the anamnestic response to sheep cells in the mouse and could affect this response whether administered before the primary antigen challenge or immediately before the secondary challenge. In distinct contrast, TA enhanced antibody production to Escherichia coli O55:B5 lipopolysaccharide when assessed by counting plaque-forming cells or measuring antilipopolysaccharide serum titers. The TA failed to stimulate a large uptake of [3H]TdR by murine spleen cells; however, it significantly enhanced the clearance of carbon by the reticuloendothelial system.