, 2007). Because the depletion of AM obviates the need for PT production by B. pertussis in order to reach maximal levels of infection, we hypothesized that AM depletion may selectively enhance B. pertussis infection and possibly alter the dynamics of coinfection with B. parapertussis. To test this, mice were treated intranasally with 100 μL CL or PL as a control. Twenty-four hours later, two mice from each group were euthanized and the cell content of BAL fluid was analyzed to confirm successful AM depletion (data not shown). Groups

of the remaining pretreated mice (n=4) were inoculated 48 h later with either 5 × 105 CFU Selleck AG14699 B. parapertussis or a mixture of 5 × 105 CFU B. pertussis and 5 × 105 CFU B. parapertussis (1 : 1 mix). Four days postbacterial

inoculation, mice were euthanized and the bacterial loads of the two organisms in the respiratory tracts were determined. Remarkably, AM depletion reversed the learn more outcome of the mixed infection, with significantly higher numbers of B. pertussis than B. parapertussis recovered (mean CI=16.7) (Fig. 5a). In control PL-treated mice, there were greater numbers of B. parapertussis than B. pertussis recovered, although this difference was not significant (Fig. 5a). In mice infected with B. parapertussis alone, AM depletion had no effect on bacterial numbers (Fig. 5b). It is interesting to note that the total bacterial load in the CL-treated

mixed infection group was significantly Isoconazole higher than the PL-treated group or the CL-treated group inoculated with B. parapertussis alone (Fig. 5). From these data, we conclude that AM depletion does not enhance B. parapertussis infection, suggesting that AM do not play a major protective role early in infection with this organism. This is in contrast to the effects of AM depletion on B. pertussis where CL treatment results in enhanced infection of the respiratory tract (Carbonetti et al., 2007). PT inhibits early influx of neutrophils into the respiratory tract in response to B. pertussis infection (Carbonetti et al., 2003, 2005), and this effect is mediated by the inhibition of chemokine upregulation in lung cells in response to B. pertussis infection in the airways (Andreasen & Carbonetti, 2008). Neutrophils play a fundamental role in the innate immune response to bacterial infections and are essential in the protection against a number of lung pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Tsai et al., 2000). However, we found recently that neutrophil depletion had no effect on B. pertussis infection in naïve Balb/c mice (Andreasen & Carbonetti, 2009). To investigate whether neutrophils play a role in the dynamics of mixed respiratory tract infections with B. parapertussis and B.