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Summary Mice injected with anti-mouse-erythrocyte serum or phenylhydrazine hydrochloride were more susceptible to infection caused by Salmonella typhimurium than normal mice or mice injected with normal rabbit serum or saline solution. The increase in susceptibility was observed over a wide range of inoculum sizes and for infection initiated by the intravenous, intraperitoneal or intragastric route. Injection of anti-mouse-erythrocyte serum or phenylhydrazine hydrochloride also resulted in increased susceptibility to infection caused by Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus, but not by Diplococcus pneumoniae. The increase in susceptibility to infection was not related to anemia per se as anemia of an equivalent degree resulting from acute blood loss did not increase susceptibility to salmonella infection. The infection-enhancing effect of antimouse-erythrocyte serum could be removed by absorption with mouse erythrocyte stroma but not with mouse liver. Transfusion of antibodycoated mouse erythrocytes or heterologous erythrocytes also resulted in a marked increase in susceptibility of mice to S. typhimurium infection whereas infusion of normal mouse erythrocytes or injection of hemoglobin solution and erythrocyte stroma from homologous or heterologous erythrocytes did not appreciably alter susceptibility. The hypothesis is offered that phagocytosis of heterologous or altered homologous erythrocytes by reticuloendothelial cells impairs the capacity of these cells to kill ingested bacteria.
Kaye et al. (Mon,) studied this question.