Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to I Lundell-Etherden.
Only 9 of 30 Staphylococcus saprophyticus strains produced slime in trypticase soy broth, while all did so in urine. It was found that urea was essential for the production of slime. The pH, the iron concentration, or the presence of sex hormones did not affect slime production.
The serological response towards Staphylococcus saprophyticus in young women with symptomatic urinary tract infection was measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a direct agglutination (DA) test. In both assays a marked antibody response was found in 2 of 3 patients with acute pyelonephritis caused by S. saprophyticus. Patients with acute cystitis due to S. saprophyticus or Escherichia coli showed antibody titers comparable to those of healthy controls.
Extracellular products from Staphylococcus saprophyticus were isolated and tested for their effect on the lymphoproliferative activity of con A and LPS and on the growth of human lymphocytes. The stimulatory effects of con A or LPS were not affected but a T-cell mitogenic activity was noted after 5 days of incubation. The extracellular material was separated by gel chromatography and the mitogenic activity was shown to be located to the protein fraction.
Ascending pyelonephritis was induced by Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Proteus mirabilis both by inoculating the organisms separately and in combination into rat bladders. Bacterial cultures of tissue homogenates showed that pyelonephritis by both bacteria occurred significantly more often in rats where the two organisms were instilled concomitantly, suggesting a synergistic virulence between the two species. The antibody response to the different organisms was the same either the bacteria were instilled separately or in combination.