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Ph And Calcium Dependence Of Hemolysis Due To Rickettsia Prowazekii: Comparison With Phospholipase Activity, David M. Ojcius, M. Thibon, C. Mounier, Alice Dautry-Varsat
Ph And Calcium Dependence Of Hemolysis Due To Rickettsia Prowazekii: Comparison With Phospholipase Activity, David M. Ojcius, M. Thibon, C. Mounier, Alice Dautry-Varsat
All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles
Rickettsia prowazekii invades nucleated cells through phagocytosis and subsequently proliferates in the cytoplasm of the host cell. Hemolysis and a phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity at neutral pHs have previously been reported; even though the phagosomal environment is most likely acidic. We here show that R. prowazekii and R. typhi also lyse erythrocytes at mildly acidic pHs, compatible with an early phagosomal compartment. For R. prowazekii, hemolysis at an acidic pH but not a neutral pH is enhanced by Ca2+, raising the possibility that more than one membranolytic factor may be produced by the rickettsiae. The rickettsiae alone display PLA2 activity, …