Abstract
It is well established that human sera and secretions contain antibodies which react with strains of indigenous bacteria (1–5). The apparent ability of indigenous organisms to persistently colonize humans and animals despite the presence of antibodies reactive with them suggests either: 1) that the host immune response to indigenous organisms is comparatively feeble and does not significantly influence their colonization, or 2) populations of indigenous species are able to evade the host’s immune response by undergoing antigenic variation. This phenomenon is well known to occur in certain viral (6) and protozoan diseases (7), but it has been studied less well in bacterial infections. Populations of Vibrio cholerae have been observed to change serotype while colonizing gnotobiotic mice (8), and antigenic changes have been noted in isolates of Camplylobacter fetus during natural infections in cattle (9); antigenic alterations may also occur in hemolytic streptococci following serial mouse passage (10).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bratthall, D. and Gibbons, R. J., Infect. Immun. 11: 603, 1975.
Kraus, F. W. and Kono, J., Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 106: 311, 1963.
Sirishinha, S., Arch. Oral Biol. 15: 551, 1970.
Williams, R. C. and Gibbons, R. J., Science 177: 697, 1972.
Evans, R. T. and Mergenhagen, S. E., Proc. Soc. Expt. Biol. Med. 119: 815, 1965.
Fenner, F., McAnslan, B. R., Mims, C. A., Sambrook, J. and White, D. O., in The Biology of Animal Viruses, 2nd ed., p. 618, Academic Press, N.Y., 1974.
Gray, A. R., J. Gen. Microbiol. 41: 195, 1965.
Sack, R. B. and Miller, C. E., J. Bacteriol. 99: 688, 1969.
Corbeil, L. B., Schurig, G.G.D., Bier, P. J. and Winter, A. J., Infect. Immun. 11: 240, 1975.
Wilson, A. T., J. Exp. Med. 81: 593, 1945.
Keyes, P. H. and Jordan, H. W., Arch. Oral Biol. 9: 377, 1964.
Rantz, L. A. and Randall, E., Stanford Med. Bull. 13: 290, 1955.
Bratthall, D. and Gibbons, R. J., Infect. Immun. 12: 1231, 1975.
Ebersole, J. L., Molinari, J. A. and Platt, D., Infect. Immun. 12: 353, 1975.
Gold, O. G., Jordan, H. V. and van Houte, J., Arch. Oral Biol. 18: 1357, 1973.
Howell, T. H. and Gibbons, R. J., unpublished data, 1977.
Cooke, E. M., Ewins, S. and Shooter, R. A., Brit. Med. J. 4: 593, 1969.
Robinet, H. G., J. Bacteriol. 84: 896, 1962.
Tanzer, J. M., Hageage, G. J. and Larson, R. H., Arch. Oral Biol. 18: 1425, 1973.
Taubman, M. A. and Smith, D. J., Infect. Immun. 9: 1079, 1974.
Lehner, T., Challacombe, S. J. and Caldwell, J., Arch. Oral Biol. 20: 305, 1975.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1978 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gibbons, R.J., Howell, T.H. (1978). Antigenic Variation in Populations of Oral Streptococci. In: McGhee, J.R., Mestecky, J., Babb, J.L. (eds) Secretory Immunity and Infection. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 107. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3369-2_93
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3369-2_93
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-3371-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-3369-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive