Journal: Frontiers in Immunology
Article Title: Targeting the capsule of Klebsiella pneumoniae with a cationic CR3-binding protein enhances phagocytosis and promotes bacterial clearance and survival in a mouse sepsis model
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1934439
Figure Lengend Snippet: rPF4 enhances phagocytosis of heat-inactivated and live low-virulence K. pneumoniae by macrophages. (A) Effect of rPF4 on phagocytosis of K. pneumoniae by suspended IC-21 macrophages. Cells were incubated with fluorescein-labeled, heat-inactivated K. pneumoniae (ATCC 13883; capsule type K3) pretreated with 50 µg/ml rPF4 for 30 minutes at 37 °C. After quenching fluorescence with ethidium bromide, phagocytosis was quantified by flow cytometry. Representative histograms from eight independent experiments are shown. (B) Quantification of the effect of different concentrations of rPF4 on phagocytosis of K. pneumoniae by suspended mouse IC-21 macrophages based on flow cytometry results. MFI, mean fluorescence intensity. Data are presented as the mean fold difference in MFI ± standard deviation from 3–8 independent experiments. *p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, ns, nonsignificant. (C–F) Quantification of phagocytosis of K. pneumoniae by various phagocytes in suspension in the presence of different concentrations of rPF4. Values represent MFI fold-difference means ± S.D. from 3–8 independent experiments. (G) Fluorescein-labeled, heat-inactivated K. pneumoniae were pretreated with 50 µg/ml rPF4 and added to adherent TG-elicited inflammatory macrophages for 60 minutes at 37 °C. Non-phagocytosed bacteria were removed, and phagocytosis was assessed from fluorescent cell images. Representative images of macrophages exposed to rPF4-coated bacteria ( upper panel ) and uncoated control bacteria ( lower panel ) are shown. The scale bars are 10 μm. (H) Representative confocal image showing phagocytosed fluorescein-labeled K. pneumoniae inside a macrophage. Representative confocal image showing phagocytosed fluorescein-labeled K. pneumoniae inside a macrophage with orthogonal YZ and XZ views. The scale bar is 5 μm. The scale bar is 5 μm. (I) Quantification of rPF4-mediated enhancement of K. pneumoniae phagocytosis, expressed as the number of fluorescent bacteria per cell. Phagocytosis was assessed in IC-21 macrophages, mouse inflammatory macrophages, and mouse neutrophil/monocyte populations. Values represent mean ± S.D. from three random fields per condition in three independent experiments ***p < 0.001. (K) Live pHrodo-labeled K. pneumoniae were preincubated with rPF4 and then added to various macrophages in suspension. After 30 min at 37 °C, phagocytosis was measured by flow cytometry. Values represent mean fold differences in MFI ± S.D. from 4–9 independent experiments; ***p < 0.001. (L) Adherent IC-21 macrophages (5×10 5 ) were incubated with 10 6 CFU of K. pneumoniae pretreated with 50 μg/ml rPF4 for 1 h at 37 °C. After phagocytosis, cells were washed, and extracellular bacteria that may have remained on the cell surface were inactivated with gentamicin for 1 h. Macrophages were then either lysed immediately with 0.2% Triton X-100 or cultured in DMEM for 3 and 24 hours. Aliquots of cell lysates were plated on LB agar plates for 16 h at 37 °C, and CFUs were determined. Data are means ± S.D. from 3 experiments. ***p< 0.001.
Article Snippet: The IC-21 murine macrophage cell line, human monocytic U937 and THP-1 cells, and A549 lung epithelial cells were obtained from ATCC and cultured in RPMI supplemented with 10% FBS and antibiotics.
Techniques: Incubation, Labeling, Fluorescence, Flow Cytometry, Standard Deviation, Suspension, Bacteria, Control, Confocal, Cell Culture