Anticoagulants impact on innate immune responses and bacterial survival in whole blood models of Neisseria meningitidis infection.

ABSTRACT: Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) causes invasive diseases such as meningitis or septicaemia. Ex vivo infection of human whole blood is a valuable tool to study meningococcal virulence factors and the host innate immune responses. In order to consider effects of cellular mediators, the coagulation cascade must be inhibited to avoid clotting. There is considerable variation in the anticoagulants used among studies of N. meningitidis whole blood infections, featuring citrate, heparin or derivatives of hirudin, a polypeptide from leech saliva. Here, we compare the influence of these three different anticoagulants, and additionally Mg/EGTA, on host innate immune responses as well as on viability of N. meningitidis strains isolated from healthy carriers and disease cases, reflecting differ

SUBMITTER: Strobel L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6033889 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature