In vivo and in vitro bactericidal effects of Secretory Leukocyte Protease Inhibitor (SLPI) on Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG).

SONIA GÓMEZ; CLAUDIA ARGUELLES; DIEGO GUERRIERI; RUT SLIMOVICH; NANCY TATEOSIAN; VIRGINIA PASQUINELLI; H. EDUARDO CHULUYÁN; VERÓNICA E. GARCÍA.

Rio de Janeiro

Congreso; 13th International Congress of Immunology,; 2007

SLPI is a proteinase inhibitor produced mainly by epithelial cells. Several studies demonstrate that SLPI has bactericidal activity against Streptococcus species and Escherichia coli but its role against mycobacterial species has never been reported. Our objective was to study the effect of recombinant human SLPI (rhSLPI) on Mycobacterium bovis BCG viability in vitro and in vivo. rhSLPI (5 μM) was incubated overnight with equal volumes of mid-log grown bacterial suspension (105/ml), and survival percentage was determined with a colorimetric method. rhSLPI killed M. bovis BCG rendering 70% and 30% survival at 2.5μM and 5μM, respectively (p