Immunobiological activities of a porin fraction isolated from Fusobacterium nucleatum ATCC 10953

From Fusobacterium nucleatum ATCC 10953 cell envelope fraction whose inner membranes had been removed by treatment with sodium N-lauroyl sarcosinate, an outer membrane protein (37,000 M(r) in a native state) was prepared by extraction with lithium dodecyl sulfate. The protein thus obtained showed distinct porin activity, namely, the ability to form hydrophilic diffusion pores by incorporation into the artificial liposome membrane. The porin fraction exhibited strong immunobiological activities in the in vitro assays: B-cell mitogenicity and polyclonal B-cell activation on murine splenocytes, stimulatory effects on guinea pig peritoneal macrophages, and enhancement of the migration of human blood monocytes. The porin fraction also exhibited immunoadjuvant activity to increase the antibody production against sheep erythrocytes in the spleen of mice that were immunized by sheep erythrocytes with porin. Although chemical analyses revealed that the test porin fraction contained a considerable amount of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (around 12% of the fraction), the studies with LPS-nonresponding C3H/HeJ mice and on the inhibitory effects of polymyxin B strongly suggest that most of the above bioactivities are due to porin protein itself, not to coexistent LPS in the porin fraction.