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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, June 2000, p. 1575-1577, Vol. 44, No. 6
0066-4804/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Relationship between Capsular Type, Penicillin Susceptibility, and Virulence of Human Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolates in Mice

E. Azoulay-Dupuis,* V. Rieux, M. Muffat-Joly, J. P. Bédos, E. Vallée, C. Rivier, R. Isturiz, C. Carbon, and P. Moine

Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, EMI-U 9933, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard, 75877 Paris Cedex 18, France

Received 26 July 1999/Returned for modification 26 November 1999/Accepted 17 March 2000

We examined the relationship between penicillin susceptibility, peritoneal virulence in Swiss mice, and capsular type in a selection of 122 clinical Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates belonging to 24 serotypes. Regardless of the serotype, all 32 virulent strains were susceptible to penicillin, and all 41 strains with diminished susceptibility or resistance to penicillin were avirulent. The remaining 49 strains were both susceptible to penicillin and avirulent, irrespective of the serotype. On the basis of their capsular type and pathogenic behavior, strains fell into one of four groups. In the group consisting of serotypes 1, 3, and 4 (n = 16), strains were predominantly virulent (81.3%), and all were penicillin susceptible. In the serotype 6 group (n = 32), the frequency of virulence was significantly lower (34.4 versus 81.3%, P = 0.002), and strains were predominantly penicillin susceptible (71.9%). In the group composed of serotypes 9, 14, 19, and 23 (n = 50), all strains were avirulent, and 56% had decreased susceptibility (n = 12) or resistance to (n = 16) penicillin. The fourth group was heterogenous, as it pooled 24 strains of 15 different serotypes; in this group the frequency of virulence was 33.3%, and strains were predominantly penicillin susceptible (83.3%). These data point to a complex relationship between penicillin susceptibility and virulence in mice but do not entirely separate these characteristics from the role of the capsular type. The possibility that the mechanisms conferring penicillin resistance are related to those leading to a loss of virulence is supported by these findings.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: INSERM EMI-U 9933, Bâtiment U13, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard, 170 Bd Ney, 75877 Paris Cedex 18, France. Phone: 33 1 40 25 86 08. Fax: 33 1 40 25 86 02. E-mail: eazoulay{at}bichat.inserm.fr.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, June 2000, p. 1575-1577, Vol. 44, No. 6
0066-4804/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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