Cryptic peptidoglycan and the antiphagocytic effect of the Staphylococcus aureus capsule: model for the antiphagocytic effect of bacterial cell surface polymers.

The antiphagocytic effect of the Staphylococcus aureus capsule is known to be related to its ability to interfere with opsonization by normal human serum. In this study, evidence is presented with isolated cell surface components which indicates that the capsule hinders opsonization by masking cell wall peptidoglycan. In contrast to intact, encapsulated S. aureus M cells, peptidoglycan particles isolated from the organism were efficiently opsonized by normal human serum and phagocytized by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Cell wall particles retaining capsular material were opsonized less efficiently than peptidoglycan. Studies comparing the opsonic capacities of normal, C2-deficient, and heat-inactivated sera led to the conclusion that both the classical and the alternative complement pathways contribute to the opsonization of peptidoglycan in normal human serum. It appears that the capsule interferes with opsonization via both of these complement pathways. Serum from rabbits immunized with S. aureus M had significant heat-stable opsonic activity for the intact organism and cell walls retaining capsular material, but not for peptidoglycan. A general model is proposed to explain how antiphagocytic cell surface polymers may inhibit bacterial opsonization and thereby impede natural immunity.