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Uptake of Pneumocystis carinii mediated by the macrophage mannose receptor

Nature volume 351, pages 155–158 (1991)Cite this article

Abstract

HUMAN exposure to Pneumocystis carinii is common1,2 but, in the absence of acquired3 or genetic4 dysfunction of either cellular or humoral immunity, exposure rarely leads to illness. Although alveolar macrophages can degrade P. carinii5,6, macrophage receptors involved in P. carinii recognition have not been clearly defined. Characterization of a predominant surface glycoprotein of the high mannose type7,8 led us to investigate the role of the macrophage mannose receptor in this process. We report here that binding and uptake of cultured rat P. carinii by human and rat alveolar macrophages is reduced by 90% in the presence of competitive inhibitors of mannose receptor activity and by adherence of alveolar macrophages to mannan-coated surfaces. Further, only those COS cells transfected with the human macrophage mannose receptor complementary DNA that express surface mannose receptors bind and ingest P. carinii. These studies establish that the macrophage mannose receptor is sufficient for uptake of P. carinii and emphasize the role of the alveolar macrophage in first-line host defence against P. carinii.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital and The Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    R. A. B. Ezekowitz & R. M. Rose

  2. Department of Internal Medicine and, MacArthur Center for Molecular Parasitology and Pulmonary and Critical Care Section,

    D. J. Williams & F. F. Richards

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, 06510, USA

    M. Y. K. Armstrong

  4. Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, USA

    H. Koziel

  5. Department of Respiratory Biology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    A. Warner

Authors
  1. R. A. B. Ezekowitz
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  2. D. J. Williams
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  6. F. F. Richards
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  7. R. M. Rose
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Ezekowitz, R., Williams, D., Koziel, H. et al. Uptake of Pneumocystis carinii mediated by the macrophage mannose receptor. Nature 351, 155–158 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/351155a0

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