The Synergistic Contribution of Macrophages and Antibody to Protection against Salmonella typhimurium during the Early Phase of Infection

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Abstract
The contribution of phagocytes and antibody to protection against S. typhimurium during the early phase of infection in mice was analyzed. Following i.v. injection, most bacteria were trapped in the liver and spleen within 10-60 min and killed within 6 h; surviving organisms began to multiply in these tissues after 24 h and reached a maximum at 5-7 days. The transient killing phase was abrogated by treatment with carrageenan, a macrophage blocker, but not by whole-body X-irradiation. These observations suggest that carrageenan-sensitive, but radio-resistant macrophages play an important role in the early phase of the infection. Actively immunized mice showed accelerated trapping and killing; the protection observed at the early stage of infection in immunized mice could be passively transferred to normal mice; carrageenan-treated mice did not kill the bacteria even after receiving immune serum. The synergistic action of macrophages and antibody apparently provides the main initial primary defense in immune animals.

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