The role of non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae in cystic fibrosis (CF) remains unclear. We wanted, therefore, to determine the presence and characteristics of non-typeable H. influenzae in sputum samples from patients with CF. In order to do this, we have assessed sputum samples from 55 consecutive clinically stable patients seen routinely at an adult CF out-patient clinic. Quantitative bacter...

Noncapsulate Haemophilus influenzae is commonly found in the airways of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), both during stable disease and during exacerbations. Neutrophils are also found in large numbers in sputum from patients with COPD, which also contains released neutrophil products such as elastase. Why H. influenzae colonizes the lungs of patients with COPD in the...

Epithelial cells interact directly with bacteria in the environment and play a critical role in airway defense against microbial pathogens. In this study, we examined the response of respiratory epithelial cells to infection with nontypable Haemophilus influenzae. Using an in vitro cell culture model, we found that epithelial cell monolayers released significant quantities of IL-8 and expressed...

Otitis media (OM) is among the leading diseases of childhood and is caused by opportunists that reside within the nasopharynx, such as Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis. As with most airway infections, it is now clear that OM infections involve multiple organisms. This study addresses the hypothesis that polymicrobial infection alters the course, severity, and/or treatability of ...

The growth-enhancing effects of culture filtrates of respiratory pathogenic bacteria, including Haemophilus influenzae, as well as normal floral bacteria other than Neisseria perflava and Branhamella catarrhalis on L-forms of H. influenzae were examined in vitro, using five species of major respiratory pathogenic bacteria and seven species of normal floral bacteria commonly isolated from the sp...

Previous studies of immune response to Haemophilus influenzae after exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have yielded contradictory results. Using homologous (infecting) strains and immunoassays to surface-exposed epitopes, we tested the hypothesis that adults with COPD make new antibodies to strain-specific, surface-exposed epitopes on H. influenzae after exacerbations...

Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae are the common pathogens that colonize in the nasopharynx of children. Polymicrobial interactions are thought to play an important role in different sites throughout the human body. However, there are currently very few studies that investigate the interactions between S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, and H. influenzae in the ...

Although Haemophilus influenzae requires heme for growth, the source of heme during invasive infections is not known. We compared heme, lactoperoxidase, catalase, cytochrome c, myoglobin, and hemoglobin as sources of heme for growth in defined media. The minimum concentration of heme permitting unrestricted growth of strain E1a, an H. influenzae type b isolate from cerebrospinal fluid, was 0.02...

Protein D is a surface-exposed lipoprotein of the gram-negative bacterium Haemophilus influenzae with affinity for human immunoglobulin D myeloma protein. The gene encoding protein D (hpd) in a serotype b strain of H. influenzae was cloned. Escherichia coli carrying the hpd gene bound human myeloma immunoglobulin D. Nucleotide sequence analysis identified an 1,092-bp open reading frame that was...

The oropharyngeal flora was determined before and after operation in 127 patients undergoing upper abdominal surgery. Swabs of the oropharynx were obtained on the day before operation and on the first, third, and fifth postoperative days. Isolation of Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and coliforms was noted. In the 108 patients with the full series of throat swabs the incidence...