Passive protection by antitoxin in experimental Pseudomonas aeruginosa burn infections

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Abstract
The protective effect of intravenously administered rabbit antitoxin serum was studied in lethal Pseudomonas aeruginosa burn infections in mice. Survival after infection with 2 median lethal doses of a toxigenic, low-protease-producing strain (PA103) was enhanced in antitoxin-treated mice, as compared with controls that had received anti-bovine serum albumin serum (P = 0.0004). Survival time was prolonged in other antitoxin-treated mice infected with toxigenic, high-protease-producing strains (PA86 and PA220, P = 0.0003 and P = 0.01, respectively). In contrast, antitoxin had no protective effect in mice challenged with a nontoxigenic strain (WR 5, P = 0.57). There were fewer viable bacteria in blood and liver of antitoxin-treated mice than in those of anti-bovine serum albumin-treated controls after infection with toxigenic organisms, whereas there were no significant differences between the two groups after challenge with the nontoxigenic strain. These data suggest that P. aeruginosa exotoxin A contributes to lethality in this burn infection model, and this effect is diminished by passive immunization with antitoxin.