PROTECTIVE ROLE OF SIALOPHORIN (CD43)-EXPRESSING CELLS IN EXPERIMENTAL STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS INFECTION

Sialophorin (CD43) is a major surface mucin on most hematopoetic cell lineages, including phagocytes. Defects of CD43 expression occur in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, a disease characterized by susceptibility to pyogenic infections. In a newly established rat model of septic Staphylococcus aureus arthritis, we hale investigated the role of CD43-expressing cells in the progression of the disease. A single injection of a monoclonal antibody specific for CD43 induced a highly erosive course of arthritis and increased mortality in animals exposed to a suboptimal dose of bacteria, Our results demonstrate that sialopharin-expressing cells play a protective role in the early stage of staphylococcal infection.